Trapped
by skygirl111
Summary: Hermione Muggle! AU. Lucius finds himself obsessively in love with Hermione and decides to kidnap her so that she may be his. Shes scared, alone, and lost in this new world and she must fight to survive. Not only that but is she really a Muggle after all? (Rated M for later chapters)
1. Chase

Muggle Hermione AU!

What if Hermione never went to Hogwarts after all? She was accepted, but could never understand how to get there so she never went. Fate had always tied her to the Wizarding World, even if the connection was through a certain Death Eater…..

Hey guys I'm writing this just for fun. I doubt this will be popular or noticed by anyone but I still hope you guys enjoy. This is my first fanfiction too or time writing at all!

Feedback would be nice!

-oooo-

Hermione would never know what that letter she received when she was 10 years old was for. She would never make it to platform 9¾. She would never have met the boy who lived and her future husband. No, Hermione never got that chance. The wizarding world would never be more than a fairy tale to her, a dream land in the corner of her mind.

Hermione would also never know that up she had been watched for the past 4 years, by a stranger from the world it was too late to be a part of.

She would never be able to avoid him because he would always change. She would never know what a polyjuice potion was or that he hid behind them, watching her.

What she soon would know is that he was one of the most powerful and wealthiest wizards, right hand man to the most evil dictator to ever have walked this earth. This man who had stalked her was none other than Lucius Malfoy, son of Abraxas Malfoy.

He had been taken with her from the first time he had seen her.

It happened when he was on a trip to muggle London. He secretly was fascinated by the muggle world and made frequent carefully planned trips. He'd hide his true self with potions and spells so no one would discover his guilty secret.

By fate, she was in London too, on a trip into town with some friends. Hermione's friend Lottie had gotten a great sum of money for her birthday and she was to treat her friends with sweets and pastries.

On their way out of the Bakery, as they held their cakes in hand, they made their way to the tables' outside to eat; Hermione had bumped into a man. She was embarrassed because they had collided so hard she had smashed her cake into his chest, despite her best efforts to avoid this.

This man was Lucius Malfoy, and everything in his body wanted to smack the filthy muggle, although he held back as to not draw attention to himself. He looked down to spit out some vile phrase but then he saw her face. She was pretty, like a sweet pink flower at the peak of its bloom. Oh how he wanted to pick that flower out from the thorns and weeds around her, but he could not. Her face was concerned and embarrassed; this look was so powerful that he had followed her around for the next 4 years. How could he ever want someone like her? A powerless little muggle?

Yet, here he was stopped in his tracks staring at her, stuck in trance, only to be snapped out of this with a shy little voice.

"Ah, I'm so sorry sir!" She had her hand out like she wanted to clean it off but had nothing to clean it with.

He wanted to tell her something, anything, but he was so flustered that he pushed and turned the other way and walked out of sight into a sea of people. It was very odd, and it left her feeling even worse.

She never thought of that moment again, It just stayed in the back of her mind.

Now she was older and to have a man like him ogle over her as he did before was just another school girl fantasy.

She had thoughts like that, of being beautiful enough to stop a man dead in his tracks. Oh how she longed to be longed for.

Only recently has she gained self-confidence when she had made new friends who taught her the wonders of flattening irons and cosmetics.

They had also taught her to dress, flirt, and ward off the new attention from boys she had been getting. For the first time in her life she had felt like someone important, she was truly happy.

Lucius was so caught up in his own desires and selfishness that he never paid attention to any of these things.

All he knew is that he didn't want to just watch from the sidelines anymore, he didn't want to stand here watching as dopey little boys tried giving her tiny bouquets of flowers stolen from bushes. When he knew he could he could give her so much more, like gardens of every flower and all the sweets she desired.

So he decided that he would take her, and he would love her. If she did not love him back, he would make her.

-oooo-

It was another lackluster school day, Maths, English, History, and Science. She already knew the subject before the teacher taught it, there were no surprises awaiting her in each class. She could even expect "The unexpected."

As popular for her new beauty as she had become she still was the smartest girl at school. Hermione still worked and studied harder than anyone there. She could have skipped high school all together, but she stayed because she wanted to have a chance to have real friends. She wanted nothing more than to be a normal girl like everyone else, although she would never know she was far from it.

The final school bell of the day rings, and all the boys and girls in their winter uniforms come pouring out front school gates to their parents whose cars are already parked right outside.

Hermione had looked around, but her mother wasn't here yet, so she waited with her friends on the large benches in front of the school. They laughed and talked and paid no mind to the light snow fall.

After the initial crowd of people cleared up, it was much calmer. There were still many kids waiting around and talking. Although Hermione wanted to go home and study, she didn't mind times like this.

A typical schoolgirl crush giggle erupted out of Hermione's friend Sarah, "Look! That man over there is dressed so peculiar." Hermione and the other two girls turned to look at the man.

There he was, across the street, watching them. He was very handsome Hermione had noted. She had never seen a man with long platinum hair before. Despite his strange black robes and cape that were lightly dusted in soft snow, he held his head high watching them. With a firm grip on his cane he didn't break eye contact.

"He's really hot! I wonder what someone like him is doing here," said Margo, "Sarah… I think he's checking you out!" Everyone giggled, Hermione would have too if she wasn't caught in his gaze.

Their laughter and comments turned to white noise as Hermione zoned them out only to stare back at the man. She could tell that he was looking at her and not Sarah.

She felt unease but she kept her facial expression strong and fierce. In a way it was her body's natural way of sending a signal that she would not fear him. But there was no reason for that, he wasn't attacking her or making lewd gestures. All he did was simply staring back at her. A gaze as piercing as that made her heart race.

The chatter of the girls slowly broke down into talking about other things until it was nothing but silence. It seemed so fast but before she knew it, she was all alone in the front of the school still waiting.

When realizing this, her heart stopped, she was left out here alone with a grown man that had been eyeing her down for the past 40 minutes. Now she had a real reason to be afraid of him, she didn't want to end up like the girls on the news or on crime shows. Although he did not, she could have sworn that he was beginning to move towards her.

Hermione grabbed her school bag and fled inside the school building to call her mother.

-oooo-

No one was in the front office at all, it was dead quiet. There were no students or factuality to be found, just her here alone. Everyone was probably at a staff meeting. She started feeling more scared now.

She pulled the phone up from behind the front desk and started to dial in her home phone number. No one picked up. Hermione kept trying and trying, but no one would answer. Since the home phone wouldn't work she tried their work number.

The line rang for a long while until finally, her father's voice.

"Hello, this is the Wilkin's Dentistry Office. How may we help you today?"

She felt a wave of relief hit her hard like a wave, "Dad, oh thank goodness."

"Dad? Miss, I believe you have the wrong number. This is a Dentistry office, not a residence."

"Dad, It's me Hermione, I'm still here at school, where are y-.." He had cut her off.

"I'm sorry but I believe you have the wrong number, Are you looking for your father? No one here has a daughter. At least not old enough to use a phone on their own."

"Stop this right now Dad, this isn't funny. I've been sitting out in the cold for almost an hour. No one at home will pick up. I want to go home, I can walk but I don't feel safe." Her voice starts to crack and she can feel tears starting.

"I'm really sorry Miss, I hope you find your parents soon. Try contacting your school office; I'm sure they will help you. I have to go now, okay? Have a nice day." Click.

Her heart feels like has been ripped in half, why won't he recognize her. If this is a joke it sure was a cruel one. Her parents have never done something like this before, but she will let them have it when she gets home. "If I get home…" she says to herself.

Hermione places the phone back down on the desk trying to process what had just happened.

She stayed there in the office for a moment, pacing back in forth and trying to decide her next move. No one is around and she knows no one is coming for her now. She could walk home, but it's dangerous with that creep out there. Finally she makes up her mind on what to do next.

"It's now or never," she whispered under her breath trying to pump herself up, "Your house is just a road and three blocks from here, even if you make it out into your neighborhood you should be in the clear." Part of her own mind didn't believe this, but if she wanted to avoid rape she had to take a chance.

Before stepping outside, she peers out the office window that looks out into the street. There's no one there now, not even the man with long blonde hair; Just a lone street and falling snow.

She lets out of a huff as she approaches the doors to leave, praying he gave up and went home. Pushing one of the front doors open, she booked it like a bat out of hell.

She's running faster than she ever has with only the safety of home on her mind. Shoes hitting pavement with full force she can feel her own speed pulling all her hair back into the wind.

To her it seems no one's out here but she doesn't slow down, not for a moment. Even if she had looked behind her she didn't stand a chance.

Down the sidewalk she dashes, and even faster than that she is face first into snowy pavement.

"Stupefy!"

A word no one will ever hear; a word that leaves her at the mercy of unconscious darkness.

Lucius looked over her body, "Oh bloody girl, why did you have to run."


	2. Awake

There was darkness and after a long while, light. The world around her was a blur of grey and dull colors. She rubbed her eyes trying to regain her sight.

In a moment her head began to ache and pound hard like drums. She had hit the ground so hard she was lucky she did not get a concussion.

Hermione rolled to her side and winced at the pain, much like her head, her body felt like hell.

She had no idea where she was or how she got there. Hermione was disoriented she couldn't even remember running out of the school.

All she could remember was hanging up the phone and trying to hold back the pain in her heart. But how long she had been here she could not tell.

Now her senses were slowly coming back to her and she could start to make out her surroundings.

Hermione's natural instinct was to grip at her clothes, they were untouched. That was always a good sign that no one tried to touch her while she was unconscious. Still, it made her feel sick imagining that it might happen. So she shut her eyes for a moment to try to calm herself.

She could feel the hard bed underneath her and how the old cotton sheets felt like they were covered in thick dust. How damp and cold the room smelled because the walls and floor were from moist molding concrete. The room felt so old, so tired, and so lonely. The walls were chipped and there were deep grooves from all the aging. Once smooth cement was now rough and cracking, flaking away as the years went by.

The room itself was small only containing two single person beds, an old vanity with a broken mirror, a small dresser with two missing drawers, and a small woven basket. It had its own bathroom with no door, just a small tub with metal grate drain underneath it and a tiny toilet with a long broken chain.

Above and between the beds there was a small barred window high up. Letting in only small rays of light, the room would always feel dim.

As for the only door, it was big and heavy. The stain on the wood faded leaving the once beautiful door old and weathered. To her she knew this would be the only way out.

Hermione tried to get up off the bed, falling to the floor with a heavy thud. The impact was just great enough to make the just barely scabbed cuts on her legs reopen; this didn't faze her.

She pulled herself up and tried for the door again but with her legs wobbling like a new born fawn, she tripped forward and caught herself with the knob of the door.

She twisted, tugged, pushed, and pulled on the door handle but nothing worked. It was almost like if it was made of stone, but she could tell thankfully it wasn't.

She sat down on the floor, arms raised up still clenching the door knob. In her panic she managed to notice the floor, how some spots she hadn't even touched were clean of dust. Come to think of it, some parts of the vanity and basket had finger prints on them.

Someone had been in here, possibly watching her sleep. This isn't a random abandoned location; who ever took her knew what he was doing.

Yet, there was nothing Hermione could do about it. So she sulked there by the door, unable to pull herself back up.

-oooo-

Hours passed alone and eventually she did manage to get up. She explored every inch of that tiny room, until coming to the conclusion she did not want. That the door was truly the only way out of this prison.

She tried thinking of ways to escape but it all seemed illogical, other than running past who ever opened the door and making a run for it.

Hermione lay on the bed with nothing else to do; she stared and looked at all the cracks on cement ceiling. She thought about her parents, how she hoped they were looking for her right now. Perhaps there was already a search party out looking for her. Maybe Sarah and the others would tell them about the oddly dressed man watching them after school.

She was scared to death but she kept hope in her heart. She refused to be trapped here; she would be strong for her parents.

Then, there it was, the sound of the door knob turning.

As her heart jumped into her throat, she tensed up and gripped the sheets of the bed.

The door opened, and the man in black walked in. Swift and graceful he was in his entrance, so much she didn't realize the door had already closed, locking them both in.

She sat up, trying to hold back the fear that was on her face.

There he was, Lucius Malfoy, in all his rotten glory. The man who had been eyeing her down, the man she could not out run.

"It's you! You're the creep that was watching me after school. You son of a..-", she couldn't find a word strong enough to match her anger.

His face was unmoving but he jotted up eyebrow, almost daring her to finish that sentence.

Hermione got up off the bed quickly, "Where am I? Who are you?"

He took a few steps towards her making her back up more into a defensive stance.

"I am Lucius Malfoy," he said looking down on her, "You are here to serve me; I shall become your master." He was all too prepared with that answer.

She scowled and puffed herself up, "I shall not be anyone's servant! I want to go home right now, let me go or I will fight back with everything that I have!"

He secretly loved that feistiness in her, but he would break her soon enough.

His mouth formed into a small smile, "Typical muggle. You must think you are so brave for standing up to me. There's no doubt you'd be another brainless Gryffindor."

Hermione didn't take lightly to being called brainless. She ran up and swung at him, aiming for his jaw. With a gloved hand he grabbed her wrist before she could make contact with his face.

His grip was strong and powerful, it felt like he had cut of the circulation to her hand.

Lucius pushed her onto the floor against the wall and swiftly pulled his wand from his cane. Aiming it at her he spoke, "Don't try anything with me muggle. I have no problem killing you."

Those words freighted her but she couldn't take him seriously. "Is he really pointing a wand at me?" she thought to herself. She let out a small giggle. How could she be intimidated by a man pointing a stick of black wood at her? She half expected him to yell "Bippity Boppity Boo!"

"You think this is a game?" his expression still unmoving but she could still sense how angry her laugh made him.

"I'm sorry sir, but that's exactly why I laughed, because this isn't a game. I don't want to play dungeons and dragons with you or whatever this is. I want to go home and see my parents."

"Your parents? Why would they want to see you when they can't even remember who you are?" Lucius' words were so smug and confident.

Hermione felt her heart tighten, "How did you know? What… What did you do to them?" Her weak words broke into a loud growl.

"Now muggle, you are a bright young girl. How could I have taken you if you were going to have two pathetic little roaches after you? You are smart; you should have figured that out."

"I don't understand this at all. Why don't they remember me? I'm their only daughter, why won't they remember!" By now she had balled herself up with her face between her knees.

"I've wiped their memories. I couldn't have the ministry know I had taken home a muggle girl. Imagine if word got out that a great aristocrat such as myself took home a filthy little muggle girl."

She wanted to say something clever and fearless, all she could say was, "You are wrong, they will come after me. They love me; I know they won't rest until I'm back home."

He didn't respond to her, it would be a waste of time explaining how obilivation worked. Instead he threw a clump of black clothes on her, including a pair of black boots. "Change, we can't have you working in those filthy rags."

Calling her uniform 'filthy rags' was the first of many lies he would feed her. If he wanted her to his own he must use his greatest strength and break her down. She'd eventually see things his way no matter how long it took.

She let out an angry grunt of defiance and pushed the clothes off of her to the side. "Just let me leave, please I won't tell anyone."

"Get dressed or I will force you into these clothes. When I return you better be dressed or else you shall be punished. You have one hour. Make sure to bathe as well, you look repulsive."

By the time she looked up at him to yell he was already gone.

Again she was alone with her thoughts. Her alone in a tiny room forced to play along.


	3. Desperation

I really hope Lucius isn't too OOC! I just wanted to write about how he might feel like secretly on the inside. I feel like as cool and collected he is, deep down inside hes just a pathetic man. I wanted to maybe explain why Lucius is always so cruel.

Please tell me guys what you'd like to see in the future.

-oooo-

She walked over to the small metal tub. She had already felt filthy, and she was glad she had an excuse to bathe now. Not because he told her to but because she wanted to.

Thankfully the water worked. A steady stream of warm water poured into the tub.

As she stripped out of her uniform the bath had filled almost to the top. She cautiously climbed in, trying to cover herself in case someone was watching her. She would protect her dignity for as long as she could.

By her standards the water would be freezing cold, but Hermione was just thankful for even the slightest bit of warm. The bedroom was freezing and her school sweater wasn't much warmth anyways.

With each dunk into the water, crusted hairspray stripped away. There was no shampoo to ease the tangles so she made do with her fingers, yanking and pulling apart intertwined knots of hair.

Rubbing away the last of her makeup that hadn't already come off, she let out a sigh. She never liked makeup.

The feeling of it, no matter how often she tried to get used to it, felt foreign to her. She hated it because it felt like she had to lie to the world for acceptance.

What she did love about it was she could hide her flaws. She loved how it could cover the bags under her eyes from long nights studying, or the blemishes that refused to go away. The makeup made her feel like someone else, someone more confident and more beautiful. She was happy this way but inside it ate her up.

The real Hermione Granger was hidden under a mask of ivory L'Oréal and Avon blush.

Would any of those boys really love her if they could see her true self? Would they love the long messy curls that tangled into an unfixable mess at the slightest blow of wind or blotchy skin that flushed red so easily?

Before makeup and hairspray no one talked to her, no one would pay attention to her. She was a wallflower in a sea of roses; this thought always brought Hermione to tears.

The matter of the fact was Hermione was no goddess or lonely beggar, she was herself and she was beautiful in her own way. While some might laugh at her jungle of unruly brown hair others would find it enticing.

She had no time to think about these things, she hurried and washed herself with the water, scrubbing with her bare hands. Maybe he'd give her some sort of shampoo or soap next time.

As the water got colder it became darker with filth, and she exited the tub. She felt slightly better now, but reality came crashing down. She was still in this strange room, locked away by a man who was clearly out of his mind.

Hermione ringed out the water in her hair and shook off dripping water that ran down her skin.

She tipped the tub over so that the dirty tub water could pour down the drain. She crouched down on the floor watching the water flow away into the darkness. She wanted to flow away with it.

She used vanity mirror to clean herself up, although it was broken she had to make do with what she had. Since there was no towel she rang out the water in her hair that she missed with her skirt of her school uniform.

Hermione gazed at herself in the mirror. She looked at how pale she was from the cold, why she was as white as a sheet of paper. Her eyes were still puffy from crying and she had just noticed small scrapes on the side of her cheek. She wanted to hide her face from embarrassment.

"This is insane… He can't keep me here forever."

But for now she would be forced to be faced with her true self wither she liked it or not.

-oooo-

He would be back any minute now.

Hermione was already dressed and waiting for him on the bed. She had put on the clothes he'd given her earlier.

It was a knee length black dress with long sleeves and mandarin collar, black work tights, short cut bloomers and a pair of black boots. She kept the bra she was already wearing; she would not march out into the unknown without her breasts being covered. She felt her outfit was itchy and outdated, but figured it was for the best. From what she knew about him she was glad it wasn't a princess leia costume.

Elsewhere, Lucius was in his study.

He paced back and forth, regretting what he had done. The sound of his leather boots hitting polished wood floors echoed all around him.

"Should I obviate her?" he already asked himself this many times. Lucius knew that even if he did she would still be in that room dressed up in maid's clothes, and then he'd still have to explain everything to her. Even if he tried to play the nice guy surely she would see through his façade.

What to do now was the real question. He'd already threatened her and called her repulsive, he couldn't waltz on into the room and act like her savior now.

He sits back down at his desk and runs his fingers through his long platinum blonde hair.

His actions were desperate, like an addict trying to get his next fix; he didn't think he just let lust consume him. Lucius's attempts to make himself believe that he did no wrong were stupid. He'd got greedy and obsessive, and to think it was all over a muggle girl he'd never actually spoken to.

The embarrassment on his face turned to anger, "How dare this filthy little muggle brat think she's worthy of my affection. Women would fall to their knees at the sight of my gaze and yet she feels like she's special because I have taken her. She's obviously left me no choice."

Truth be told he did not know what he wanted. He wanted to love, and he wanted to be loved himself. Nothing was the same after Narcissa had left him. During the proceedings of their divorce he'd visit the muggle world often to watch Hermione. He'd imagine conversations in his head and the logical debates they would get into.

This was all just a daydream and nothing more. Still nothing can fill the hole Narcissa left in his heart. So what he craved now more than anything was to have passion and love once more.

But this was not Lucius; he would not run into a muggle girl arms with affection and take long walks on the beach with her. He convinced himself that she was not worthy of his affections.

The hour he gave her was almost up and it was time to retrieve her. Lucius got up and stood there for a moment staring down at his feet.

A plan quickly formulated into his mind. He would break her, push her to the limits so that whenever he showed her a kindness she'd come crawling to him in hopes of more. "Anyhow, she deserves to be punished; it's her fault for taunting and teasing me for so long. I will make sure she feels as tortured she made me."

The doors of his study swung open and he marched out down the corridor, the way he carried himself was dominate and powerful.

After a time he made his way into the cellar into the old abandoned maids quarters and to the door. He was hesitant to see her; he felt scared but had no reason to.

Lucius proceeded anyhow, gripping the door handle and turning it.

Hermione's heart stopped and so did Lucius'.


	4. Same

Hey guys! I'm gonna try making the chapters a bit longer, I hope no one minds. I hope you guys like it, I'm very happy it already has 20 follows ^^

Again, I'd love some reviews and suggestions. Please don't be shy~

...00000000

The snow outside had stopped and left the Malfoy Manor in a thick sheet of white.

The dark hedges surrounding the plot of land stood still and unmoving against the winter breeze. And the pavement in the driveway was 6' inches deep in snow.

If not for the man that lived there or the crimes committed inside, one might think it was a rather peaceful place. A winter fantasy, a place to spend time with loved ones at Christmas.

The Malfoy's had never been big on holidays, except for Draco who had gotten everything he could have ever wanted.

As he got older the style of gifts changed with him. From enchanted drumming bears with shiny brass symbols to absurdly expensive gold embellished stationary. Each year chocolate frogs, cream filled devil cakes, licorice snaps, and sugared butterfly wings awaited him. Even at age 17 he got childish gifts. His parents could not see he was no longer the fussy spoiled child he once was.

Lucius would give anything just to have things the way they were before. To have his family together once more on Christmas day hunkered down by their warm fireplace.

But the Christmas he wanted would never come. Draco and Narcissa would now only stay the night on Christmas Eve but soon be off the next morning.

Since she had left him he had spent Christmas getting piss drunk on expensive wines and cheap fire whiskey. He'd wallow in self-pity, end the night passed out somewhere like the garden. Most of his Christmases had an uncomfortable experience that he took them for granted.

There wasn't a thing Lucius wouldn't do for Narcissa and on Christmas Eve she was treated more like a queen than she ever was. He truly cared for her during their marriage but somewhere down the line they drifted apart.

As their romance crumbed into nothingness it made Christmas time all the more tense. Draco was not a little boy anymore and they no longer had to hide their fighting. Now free to squabble and yell, they didn't hold back during their arguments. Christmas was just another reminder that each year had brought them further apart.

Yet he still longed for the wife he once knew, as she was much more than that to him. She was his best friend and confidant, they shared gossip and she'd listen to his problems. As for his son he still saw him more often than Narcissa, but it didn't stop him from missing Draco. Draco was his only son and he took pride in him even if he couldn't show it.

To think that this man with a heart made out of stone could have ever truly loved someone as he loved his family is unfathomable.

Hermione's Christmas's were different however, during the holidays she was surrounded by family from all over England. It seemed every year that passed her family grew and grew.

And being around all these people who had their own lives to live make her uncomfortable; All her cousins where either years younger or years older than her. She had no one to relate with.

Although she was surrounded by people she still felt so alone.

Her family tried to be inclusive, inviting her into conversations. But how could she keep them going if she didn't have anything to talk about other than school? Despite the love and understanding her family gave her she still managed to feel alienated from the Christmas parties her Aunt held each year.

Her aunts and uncles would only want to talk about her love life. They teased and mocked her about having a boyfriend and she hated it. Their sarcastic tones about being a "heartbreaker" were more than she can handle. She knew they meant no harm but that fact didn't ease her embarrassment.

As she got older Christmas got less and less magical to her. It was just another reminder that she couldn't live up to her family.

She just wanted a Christmas like other kids had, like Sarah who had a simple Christmas at home with her brothers. She never had to deal with pressure of dating from her family or feeling alone.

Christmas was only a few days away, the only thing she wanted was to be back home with her mother and father.

-ooo-

Lucius pushed the door open and stepped forward into the room. He was prepared to find her sitting on the floor crying still.

But much to his surprise she was missing, he even turned his head to peer into the bathroom. Not a trace of the girl anywhere except for the puddle of water in the bathroom and the wet skirt by the vanity.

The air in the room was still and cold, and he could feel the breeze of winter air pour through the barred window. "Enough games Muggle."

He almost walked forward to further inspect the room. Lucius felt it was most like she was hiding under the bed, a stupid place to hide but she was a stupid muggle girl.

He would have if he didn't feel something brush up against his side.

He quickly turned around to see Hermione bolting away. The clever girl had hid behind the door and swiftly moved out from behind him. It was her mistake, she was too anxious to leave that cold uncaring room and accidently pumped into his side.

Everything was happening so quickly that she was almost to the steps of the cellar stairs before she felt Lucius' tight grip around her waist dragging her back into the darkness.

She kicked and punched, hollered and wailed. She was so close to leaving, she could not give up. Even if she did not know where she was she could call out for someone to come help her. If she was lucky that is.

With all her might she struggled against him, resisting the force of him. He was too strong; he had a grip around her waist that was firm and solid. In the heat of the moment there was no way to tell if he was really putting much effort into holding her.

"Stop resisting Muggle!" Those words didn't even register in her head.

He tossed her away from the stairs with great force.

She slid slightly against the floor, hitting one of the pillars.

She opened her eyes and look towards him, his wand was pointed right between her eyes.

"Try running again and I will hurt you."

This was the second time he had threatened her with wand didn't pose any threat to her, she couldn't have known it was real.

She also had no idea what he'd killed many men and women with it to pursue a dark cause. She didn't come from a world of magic and spells, so she felt no fear from it when she got up and started to run for the stairs once more.

"Crucio!" His voice was booming loud like the first clap of thunder before a storm.

Hermione fell hard against the smooth wet stone floor.

Her blood felt like it was hot boiling lava, bubbling deep in within her. A spell that was described to feel like hot knives being driven into deep into your flesh felt a thousand times worst to the girl who'd barely felt a period cramp. Hot skin pressed against the cold ground was little no relief to her and seemingly made things worse. Her skin felt like a sea of never ending fire. Burn, Burn, Burn….

Hermione screamed out, she tried to call for him to help her, to make whatever was happening stop, but all that came out were blood curdling screams. She would have urinated from the pain, but thankfully she hadn't had any fluid in her system prior.

Lucius watched her wither around floor, gripping for nothingness.

Using the crucio spell on her was uncalled for, by the time she actually tried to make it out towards the stairs she'd discover the cellar was inescapable. The only way she could leave was by being escorted by a Malfoy or their house elf.

As he stood above her he kept telling himself that she deserved it, she must learn the hard way. Another lie.

What seemed like hours of pain for Hermione was only seconds for Lucius. He lifted the curse and her body felt like it sunk into the floor, almost unconscious but not quite.

"See what happens when you try to defy me?"

She's too tired to move or to even open her eyes. She can barely let out a moan. Whatever he had to her stopped but she swore she could still feel her skin boiling. Lucius slid his want back into its holder and continued gazing at her.

This silence was uncomfortably uncanny. If it had gone on any longer her might have started to feel guilty.

"Get up now or else I will make sure the next time it is cast it will be much more unbearable."

He was almost certain she would not get up, but surely enough she slowly lifted herself back up.

It was remarkable how fast she got up, not to say she was as quick as a whip but most people pass out from the pain. Lucius figured he hadn't put enough force into the curse last time.

Using the wall as support she pushed herself into standing upright. Her hands slipped against the wet stone, and her feet struggled to keep her up. It took a full 5 minutes but she was back up again.

Hermione's eyes were filled with such hatred and pain that it almost seemed if instead of running she would try gouging out his eyes.

"Now then Muggle," he held his head eye looking down over her, "Are we done trying to rebel?"

Her expression was still pissed but she nodded, she didn't understand how he did that but she didn't want to feel it again.

"Good", he gave a small shit eating grin, "I've already given you a days' worth of rest, which you spent sleeping like a lazy oath. I thought it was time to put you to work."

"A day?" she thought, "Surely by now someone is out there looking for me."

Lucius moved towards her. "I will give you a tour of the Manor, show you want needs to be cleaned each day. I need not to repeat myself; if you do not listen the first time and do the chore incorrectly I will punish you again."

Hermione tensed, she was always a good listener and could remember things the first time but she still feared she might slip up. She couldn't deal with the pain again; she had never felt anything like it before.

"Do not make any attempt to leave the manor. I have warded the entire lot with a protection spell. If you try to leave you will be unable to. Again punishment will be served if you try to run away again. You are **mine** now, muggle. Do I make myself clear?"

She nodded.

"Come", he spoke in a demanding yet casual tone.

He grabbed her for her arm with a soft grip and escorted her out of the cellar, up the stairs, and into the hall up above.

As they walked down the dreary and cold hallway he pulled her closer and whispered something to her.

"I'm sure if you'll learn to behave, we could become a lot…. closer…"


	5. Dominance

SORRY! ff gliched and made me delete a chapter, so now I just fused it with this one. Sorry if its confusing!

-ooo-

She didn't hear him.

Her heart pumped loud in her ears making his words sound like a whisper. She didn't even notice the sound his cape made when it swayed, how his boots sounded loud on the stone tiles, or his heavy breaths came out like gusts. Nothing but the sound of hot rushing blood filled her ears.

Hermione gazed up at him and tried to study his face. She expected him to be angry, foaming out the teeth but he just looked bothered. As If he was carrying out a deed he did not wish to perform. "Is someone making him do this?" she thought to herself. But no, she could tell from the way he acted before this was something of his own doing.

She kept wondering why he was doing this, why take her? She never thought of herself was wildly talented and didn't feel she had many skills than being able to study and read just about anything. Cleaning wasn't her strong point, she could do the job at hand but then again, who couldn't?

If he needed a maid so badly why not hire one? From his hallway alone she could tell he lived in a very expensive mansion, so paying a maid or two would only be pennies out of his pockets. Even her nan had a maid for a short period of time, and she wasn't very rich.

This man, was obviously in top peak for his age. If maybe he had no money to spare at this point he was certainly strong enough to get the job done. Hell, cleaning should be the least of his worries if that was the case. So then that brought her back to the question she first asked herself, "Why me?"

Her mind wandered and she dreaded that he'd want more from her than to clean ash from the hearth or polish his silver. "No, no, no, no, no," she kept chanting to herself. A man like him, one that had already called her repulsive even she had been dolled up could have never wanted someone like her. She thought if he did, he'd be rather stupid.

She'd rather scrub the floors till her knuckles bled than have some man get his grimy hands all over her body. If he ever dared try, she would not hesitate to hurt him, even if he could hurt her back. But the thought of him touching her made her blood rush even more. She didn't want to spend her life down in that cellar being treated like an object.

Hermione began to panic.

She pulled back hard against him, resisting his movements. Lucius tripped back awkwardly, but he never lost his grip on her arm. She tried to pull back again but he was prepared and dug his gloved fingers deeper into her skin. She winced in pain, first letting out a sniffle that trailed off into a sob.

"Please just let me go home!"

Lucius pulled her to the side pushing her against a pillar and took her by the shoulders, "Stop this now, Muggle."

She tried to shake him off but could barely move under his grip, stuck between stone and flesh.

"My name is **NOT** Muggle, it's Hermione! Her-my-oh-nee! Hermione Granger!" she stomped her feet hard on floor, almost jumping. "My name is Hermione and I want to go-"

Her cheek felt like it was burning, there was a sharp sting across her face. He has slapped her hard with the back of his hand.

"You will stop this at once, Muggle. To me you have no name, because to me you are a nobody. Get that ridiculous thought out of your mind that someone's coming for you. We are thousands of miles away, in another world that your tiny little Muggle mind couldn't even **begin** to comprehend. Your filthy little Muggle parent's don't even know you exist anymore. As for your friends, they won't even notice you are missing, _it's Christmas break_."

She was even more furious now; a cocktail of anger and fear. If he thought she would let him talk to down to her, he was truly mistaken.

"They **do** remember me and they will come. With the police. And this little fairy tale mascaraed you're living in will crumble all around you when they arrest you. Then you'll see how much **YOU** like being locked up all alone! I will not play pretend with you; I do not want to play this game!" Her voice boomed louder than his.

"Enough!"

Lucius pulled out his wand and flung his arm to the side. Not once did he look away from her.

"Expulso!"

A large flash of green erupted from the tip of his wand with a large burst of light.

BOOM.

The beam had broken off a large part of marbled granite from one of the pillars in the hall. The crumbled pieces lay scattered across the floor, smoking hot from the intensity of the spell.

How was that possible? She couldn't comprehend what has just happened. Was he truly not lying after all? No, no, no, Magic isn't real. It's a work of fantasy fiction just like in her childhood story books. He's bluffing; it's just smoke and mirrors. Then why? Why did it feel so real?

Her whole body felt like it was made of bricks, unmoving and frozen. In the corner of her eye she could see he was looking directly at her like lion about to pounce on it's pray. Unable to move by herself, he grabbed her by the chin and slowly moved her head to look at him.

His dull grey eyes pierced her soul, his look expression was so empty but there was something about his eyes. Something she could not quite make out but it sent a chill down her spine and made her heart tighten. Something that made Lucius Malfoy feel inhuman.

"Next time that will be you, Muggle."

Instinctively she nodded; her eyes were wide like dinner plates. Her whole body was shaking, and her insides churned loudly. It was almost as if her stomach was to climb into her throat and pour out of her mouth.

His hand traveled away from her chin to her cheek where he wiped away a stray tear.

Lucius guided her back and they walked down the hall in silence till and they exited through the doors.

-ooo-

He had taken her to the main parlor and they stopped for a second.

Hermione had been looking at her feet the entire time they walked there so when she looked up to see the rest of the room she stood there amazed. She was impressed with the beautiful architecture of the room and awed over every fine detail.

She admired each and every curve of the room, the carvings around the walkways, the beautiful end table that held expensive milk colored candles, and even the beautiful dark beige carpet that covered most of the dark stone tiled floor. There was even a large black leather chair and a roaring fireplace next to it. The warmth of the fire was so inviting, it let of such a strong glow even in the light of day.

Lucius watched her eyes light up, she acted like if she was a lonely present being invited to stay the night in the queen's castle.

"This is the Parlor, I expect you to take good care of it. You make sure this room to be cleaned every day, Muggle. Each day you shall clean the ashes from the firebox, polish and dust the tables, replace the candles when needed. Don't worry about the carpets and drapery; a house elf will clean them much faster. Do NOT touch my chair in anyway."

"Yes sir."

The room wasn't dirty at all other than a couple flecks of ash that blew out from beyond the hearth, but this room didn't need cleaning and certainty not everyday.

"Good, let's continue."

He didn't guide her this time, he walked at a reasonable place and she strolled behind him. In a way she swore she could still feel his hand digging into her skin.

They exited the parlor and walked down another dull colored hall filled with closed doors.

"I expect every hall to be swept and scrubbed each day, any furniture to be dusted, books put away, empty glassed washed and put back into the kitchen." They turned into another hall of doors.

"When I hold my dinner parties you'll clean, polish and set the table. I don't know if I quite trust you yet with my food, Muggle. But if the situation ever calls for it, you will help Ditzy with cooking."

"Ditzy"? Who was this "Ditzy" person? Perhaps another girl he had taken. She felt even more uneasy but didn't dare asking, if it was another person she'd surely cross paths with them soon enough.

"All your cleaning supplies are in the second door in corridor outside the cellar. The supplies are labeled so even a simple minded little Muggle such as yourself could see their uses. I don't expect you'd understand something like that but I'll hold trust in you for now."

They arrived in the dining room, it didn't take too long but walking with him made anything feel like a thousand years.

The room was very large and seemed darker than the rest of the house. It contained a very long dining table that stood on top of an even larger brown carpet. The room was so great; it almost felt like she was inside of the parliament. The windows of the room stretched high up, and she could see it was still snowing outside.

That gave her some slight hope that he was lying, that maybe they weren't too far from home after all. If she did manage to escape, she could probably flag someone down for help.

"I am hosting a meeting tonight. I accept this place to be spotless by that time. I do not want to be made a fool in front of all my guests. If it is not cleaned to my liking I will harm you."

She felt nervous again but ignored it as she suddenly had a bucket full of soap water in her hand and a fresh rag in the other. She never picked those things up or saw them when she walked in. This was getting much too strange for her.

"Get cleaning, I will have Ditzy come for you in an hour to show you the kitchen and what needs cleaning."

-ooo-

Hermione scrubbed, wiped, mopped, cleaned, and washed every piece of furniture in the room. She had managed to clean all 20 chairs in the matter of an hour. Even scrubbing underneath them, were no one could even see filth, especially in this lighting.

It was grating on her fingers having to scrub into deep crevices of the carved designs. She let no loop, curl, or dent go unwashed. Sure was sure her attention to detail wouldn't matter, she could already tell no matter her efforts he'd find something he didn't like.

She was to start on the table itself, a very easy task compared to having to clean so many dining chairs. Her arms were so tired by then, it seemed when the rag hit the table her arms collapsed on themselves.

If Lucius walked in it would look like she hadn't done anything, but she was so tired she didn't care. She leaned over the table resting for a moment. He muscles were sore and she could finally feel her body calming down from the traumatic experience she had maybe only a few hours ago.

As cold as she was on the outside she can feel how warm her insides were. Working hard so to heal whatever damage he might have caused her. Now that she had this moment to rest she was able to finally feel her hunger and dehydration.

"Just a little longer Hermione, they will come for you soon to work on the kitchen. There will be food there."

It was very hard to pull herself back up after resting, but she did anyways and continued to scrub. Again she repeated with large circular motions on the table so that the cherry wood would shine bright. She thought it was so ridiculous he was making her clean a room that didn't have a speck of dust to begin with. Her rag was still almost completely white, no dirt at all.

As she cleaned the table she got lost in her own thoughts of loathing that man.

Much like the rest of the house, everything was quiet, so her heart jumped out of her throat when she heard a small voice.

"Excuse me miss. D-Ditzy is here to t-take you to the kitchen."

She spun on her heels backwards, hoping to see another human face that wouldn't hurt her. But she was wrong. There was no other girl. She looked down to be met with a small wrinkly creature, with big wet eyes and loose floppy peach skin that hung on his bones like thick sheets. He was wearing a faded potato sack tied with an old worn down rope.

She recoiled in fear and let out a shocked scream.

"Miss! Miss! Please don't scream! Master will surely come down here and beat us," the thing pleaded.

She tried to calm down but he looked so strange to her, like something from beyond the stars. It was possibly a puppet from the Labyrinth come to life.

"W-Who are you?" Hermione demanded.

"I'm Ditzy, the h-house elf. I've come to get ya miss. Masters orders." Ditzy fiddled with his fingers, and looked shyly up at Hermione.

She could see this, "Ditzy" creature posed no threat to her. He was probably as scared and had taken 10x as many beatings as she'd ever get. So she very quickly forgot his appearance and felt sorry for the poor thing. Hermione wondered if he had taken this thing too, if he had a family of other smaller elves waiting at home for him. Missing their father.

She rolled the damp rag up in her hand and placed it on the side of the bucket, "I'm Hermione. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I've never seen an… elf... before."

"Hogwarts doesn't h-have house elves?"

She didn't know what "Hogwarts" was either but she figured maybe it was some sort of magical based slang for the non-magical world.

"I suppose so," she said, "Ditzy? I know I must clean the kitchen but will there be food for me to eat there? I haven't had anything to eat in days."

"Oh, yes Miss! Plenty of food. Ditzy has already prepared leftover stew for you."

Her stomach roared in excitement, how wonderful stew sounded to her. She didn't care what kind, she hadn't eaten in three days so anything sounded lovely to her. For a moment she felt comfort from this strange creature, she was the only other creature here to show her any kindness.

If she could become friends with him, than they both might have a better chance at escaping and going home to their families.

"Shall we go miss?" He gently put out his hand to her.

She took his small hand and they walked.

-ooo-

The kitchen was grand; a mixture of old Victorian and Goth architecture. Smoothed stone counter tops, sturdy hickory woodwork, with dark stained steel drawer pulls. The diamond paned windows were frosted over from the outside snow. Across the kitchen was another roaring fireplace that held a large cauldron, with its lid bubbling over.

All around her, pots, pans, and cutlery were busy at work. Some were self-scrubbing; others sautéed and flipped while others diced onions and carrots. All of them suspended up in the air by themselves, like magic. It was getting harder now to convince herself that this wasn't real. She still tried to believe that this was an illusion. But if it was, it was very impressive.

The smell of cooking vegetables and stewed meat danced around with the smell of fragrant fruit desserts that Ditzy had finished preparing. This made her stomach growl.

"What's this all for?" She already knew that answer to that but wanted to get a better understanding.

"Dinner party, Miss. Master holds them every now and again."

"What for?" Hermione perked up; maybe who ever came to the party could help her. Hopefully these people would be much more humane than Lucius.

"Just for the occasion I suppose."

Why would Lucius lie to her? Would telling her it was a "meeting" just a tactic to be more ominous? Pathetic. If fear and control is what he wanted then Hermione knew she had to play along, make him feel comfortable. To take full advantage of him she had to make him underestimate her. Even someone like Lucius had to slip up eventually. This would be hard as she was a natural born fighter.

-ooo-

She sat down at a very small stone table pressed against the kitchen wall. From the other side of the room as Ditzy tended to the roast in the oven. He snapped his fingers and a small bowl of brown broth with a mug of pumpkin juice floated over to her table, resting gently in front of her.

It was a beef stew, composed of large chucks of meat and carrots. The stews broth was thick and warm, perfect for a cold winter's day. She could feel the heat from the steam the food gave off. Hermione put her face over it for a second to feel its warmth. Finally she started to drink to soup, carefully, to make it last. She wasn't sure when she'd eat again, and god forbid it was her last meal she would at least want to enjoy it.

Halfway through eating, she put her bowl down from her face, looking at Ditzy from across the room. Again she wondered about the creature, where it came from and how it was working for Malfoy. Perhaps there were other House Elves or maybe he was just forced to work alone in solitary.

"Did he… Did he take you away from your family too?"

She could see he flinched at this question.

"Ah no miss, you see Ditzy has no family. Ditzy was born into his life, Miss."

"Born into this life? Like a servant _or a slave_?"

" _A House Elf_."

It was apparent Ditzy was never given a chance at life and probably his entire race never had. How cruel of these people, to treat anything like a slave at birth. If he could speak and act, beg and plead, then he should be treated at a citizen. Anyone with a heart wouldn't force someone to live a life of house work and chores. Maybe that's why she was here, but it couldn't be. Ditzy was still being forced to cook for Lucius, which meant he wouldn't free him.

Hermione was silent for a while. She thought of what to say next, "Does he treat you well?" was one question. But from earlier she could make a logical assumption that he doesn't. Or she could say, "You know, we could work together to escape." But he probably had orders to tell Lucius if she ever dared to ask.

She sipped her pumpkin juice, and with a daring tone spoke, "I'm not one of them you know. I'm not from here. I can't do magic like you guys can"

Ditzy jumped up slightly and shyly turned to her, "But Miss, I thought you-"He stopped dead silence. She saw his eyes shift from her to something else, and she looked too.

Lucius was standing there watching them. He turned to face her and they locked eyes. Once again he was gracing them with his nefarious presence. Hermione could herself feeling defensive again at the sight of him, but tried to keep her calm. "No speaking with my House Elf while he is working."

Ditzy jumped and hid his face under his arm while he stirred the pot. He was ready to apologize but knew he wasn't being spoken to. She scrunched her nose and glared, but forced herself to apologize. "I'm sorry, Sir…"

"Never mind that, have you finished with the dining room as I have told you? I have my meeting very soon and I expect you have cleaned it like I asked."

"Yes."

"Yes?" he voiced hinted there was more she had to say.

"Yes, Sir." It was a sarcastic tone, but the "Sir" he wanted to hear none the less.

"Come now, I will see how well you did. Then I shall decide what to do from you from there."

Hermione slowly got up, trying to take her time. She didn't really want to go with him, nothing good was going to happen, she could feel it.

"Now," Lucius commanded in a deep growl. She was trying his patience, but not to make him mad. He had a short fuse that she did not want to ignite. So she hurried behind him.

-ooo-

The two of them stood silently in the dining room.

Lucius left her side and started walking around the table and chairs, examining closely. As he walked he ran his finger over the backs of the chair. He acted as if he must inspect every centimeter of wood for the slightest grain of dust.

But he found nothing, it was spotless.

"I know you are up to something." He stuck his nose up at her and stiffened himself up. His eyes narrowed on her. "When I figure it out, do not think you won't be punished, Muggle."

"…..It's Hermione," she muttered under her breath.

Lucius furrowed his brow and moved closer to her. This almost made Hermione step back but she stood still. "You are… are… vile." It was all she could say but it was what she was feeling. The look on his face made her instantly regret what she said, so she prepared herself for a hard slap, but it never came. A small cocky small formed from Lucius' lips.

"Amusing Muggle, now could tell me something I don't know?"

"Why are you so cruel to me?" The words came out in angry grunts of frustration. Hermione attempted to push him but he was too heavy. "Let me go home!"

"I told you to stop with that, Muggle. I'm getting _sick_ of your sudden outbursts. _This is your home now_ and you should be lucky enough to live in it." He circled around her as he spoke and moved a wisp of loose hair away from Hermione's shoulder with his wand.

"H-Hardly… You have me staying in an ice cold cellar! If I stay there, I'll surly catch some disease from the filth down there…"

He jotted up an eyebrow in a way only a true Malfoy could.

"If that room isn't suited enough for you I could tie you chain you up outside like the animal you are. I'm sure that would make you feel right at home." His wand was starting to dig into the side of her neck.

She wanted to shut up but couldn't help herself. "I'd rather do that than be in this god forsaken house with **_you!_** " She had really done it now.

"Have it your way then." He grabbed Hermione by the hair slammed her against one of the chairs. Her chin clipped the top rail of the chair and she fell hard to the ground, her face being scrapped along the way.

"Don't! "

He kicked her hard in the gut, slamming her back harder into the legs of the chair and driving the tip of his shoe deep into her gut. She coughed and wheezed to get back the air he kicked out of her lungs, then curling herself up into a defensive ball, trying to prepare herself for whatever came next.

Lucius picked her up by the collar of her dress and looked her right in the eyes. "Oh Muggle, I'm trying to show you kindness but you always reject it. I can't expect you to know any better, you non-magic folk are so animalistic." His grip on her collar was so tight that the fabric being pulled was making her choke.

"S-St-oo-p-p. P-Plea-se…" Her gagging voice was painful to listen to.

He dropped her collar and let her head hit the carpet. Finally she could breathe again; sweet cold air filled her fighting lungs. But it still felt like she was being gagged by the collar of her own dress.

"I guess you really do want to spend the night outside don't you Muggle? I'll have Ditzy make you a bed of dried leaves like you are accustomed to."

"N-No…"

"No?" He looked down at her and glowered. "But you seemed **_so_** determined to stay as far away from me as possible. I thought you couldn't stand being in this house?"

"No." She wanted to cry but no tears came out. It was still hard to form words; her throat was burning.

"Is that all you have to say? No?" Lucius' cruelness was uncalled for, he tried to fight the feelings for her he held deep inside. As much as he claimed to have loved her, seeing her on the floor make him feel a damn thing. She moaned something out, that neither of them sure what it was. It sounded almost like a whimper but it was apparent she tried to speak. He had a slight arrogant smile on his face, half expecting her to start begging. "What was that, Muggle?

"Let…" Hermione took in a large sharp gasp of air. "Let me go home!"

Those words knocked the smile off his face and turned it into a deep scowl.

"You are never going home! You are _MINE_. I own you know and you will work for me till the day you die."

"I was never yours to take!"

Lucius let out a wail of frustration, like a little boy throwing a tantrum. Why was he so angry? This was his entire fault. This was a fact he could not deny and it made him angrier.

"Diffindo!"

The waistline of her dress cut open, as did her stomach. There was now a large lesion stretching from her bellybutton reaching to her back. She didn't even feel it. Hermione just looked up to Lucius who was looking down at her at her stomach; there was a sort of shock and disgust hidden in his face.

Blood…. Blood…. Blood…. There was so much of it. It poured out like a thick river maroon, running down her stomach. Her shaky hands touched it, to make sure it was real. It was as real as she feared; her hands were covered in a sticky red.

This wasn't happening…. This wasn't happening….

She passed out from shock.

-ooo-

The sun was down now, and the first of Lucius' guests started to arrive. They all flocked inside, happy to escape from the brutal weather.

One after the other, they dining room was filled with death eaters. Lucius welcomed each and every one of them in, making them feel like they were good friends. They all sat before another miraculous feast that Ditzy had prepared for them. They all greedy eyed the food, while talking. But they waited on Lucius who had just sat down.

They talked and laughed and torn into most of the food within a matter of minutes. The way they ate was like a wild animal shredding apart its meal with large fangs.

Half way through the meal there was a dead silence from them all. Their eyes had gone from being glued to their plates of meats and pies to a small like girl with mousy brown hair who was holding onto a small house elf that had materialized right across the table.


	6. The Party

I just wanna state now obviously this story isn't 100% cannon in main and background events. We'll talk a little more next chapter about whats happening elsewhere in the wizarding world.

Enjoy. Remember to like,follow, and review ^_^

-ooo-

This was the second time she woke up alone in her new little room of concrete, or what she now discovered was just very worn down stone. Someone had laid her down on the bed and covered her with fresh cotton sheets. The blanket around her was unusually warm and soft but she wasn't complaining. Hermione was relived to find that she wasn't dead. Or, at least not yet.

She placed a palm over her stomach, feeling the around through the open cut of cloth. All that seemed to be left was a faded scar around her torso which she trailed her finger on. How was it not still fresh or even scabbed over? She didn't feel any pain at all, how could this be possible? It was almost if it had existed for years, maybe from a traumatic childhood accident. But how could she forget all the blood and flowed out of her…

Much like the first time she woke up here, her clothes were untouched. In a way she wished they weren't because now she had to deal with cleaning out the thick crusted blood off of her work dress. This was a very unfortunate situation. If she were to wash her clothes right now she'd have nothing to wear expect those thin school clothes. It was better just to keep them on for tonight until she could ask for a new dress in the morning. She was sure if she did, he'd just blame her for the mess and probably would make her walk around for the next few days in them.

Hermione rolled her eyes whenever she thought of Lucius scolding her or trying to sound cocky. He was truly a blemish on god's green earth. He took things to far; to slice her open till she passed out was a great case of over reacting. But she supposed he's done far worse and would consider this "taking it easy" on her. She thought about the other people, or rather other women that might have had to endure this too. She was sure there were other women before her, but what if she was a special case…

Light tears gently streamed down her warm cheeks and down her nape. She was finally feeling acceptance to her fate that no one would come for her now. Mr. & Mrs. Granger weren't looking for the daughter they didn't realize they had. Even if someone did notice she was missing they couldn't help her now. Everyone she knew was a non-magic human, so even if they reported Lucius, they'd never find him. Never in her life had she felt so alone. The two beating she received and the discovery of magic was a lot to handle in one day.

Deep within her chest she tried to wail but all that came out was a silent scream that strained her throat. Hermione had finally lost hope and all self-control, beating her anger into a pillow.

"That slimy bastard! How could he? How could he?! How could he…" Her head was pounding from the strain of crying all day. It hurt too much to continue her outburst of tears.

God she hated him so much, like no one else before. She wanted to claw his face of and yank all his hair out. In just a matter of moments he took away her life and freedom. If she had no friends or family that what was she now? A hopeless being forced to slave the rest of their days away?

She almost didn't feel like life was worth living anymore, that she should just give up. But no, she would not let herself die until she knew that he would suffer the rest of his life. "An eye for an eye, a life for a life", the same concept she figured. Once she figured out his weak point she'd tear away that malevolent shell and rip away everything inside.

She was cut away from her thoughts when she heard a bump.

In the outcry of anger against her captor, she didn't notice she wasn't alone in the room. There was something in the corner watching her, but it was hard to see in the dark.

"W-Whos there?"

The only sound made was the sound of little pattering feet on the floor. The figure walked out from the side of the vanity, into the moonlight let through from the window.

"I-It's me Miss."

"Thank goodness, I thought you were that Malfoy man. ...How did you get in?"

"I'm sorry Miss! I-I've only come to leave you a night gown and this b-bag. Ditzy didn't mean to startle you, Ditzy even made sure to apparate so he would not wake you."

She squinted her eyes at Ditzy who was only more than a dark silhouette. He lit up an old candle on that vanity that hadn't been there before. The light didn't entirely fill the room but she could finally see.

"See Miss?" He snapped his small boney fingers and in a blink of an eye he was gone. Not but a second later he was in the bathroom peering out at her.

"Amazing…" she whispered. Her words made his pale skin blush a rose tint.

He waddled up the side of her bed and placed the items on top the sheets. "Here you go Miss." There was a deep green nightgown made of satin and an old bag made of thick recycled cheesecloth wrapped with twine. She unknotted the tie and poured out the contents of the bag in front of her. Inside had been a small boar hair brush, two small bottles labeled "shampoo" and "soap", and a hair tie.

She furrowed her brow looking at these gifts. "I suppose these are from _him_?" She fiddled with the brush, twisting the handle and tapping it against her palm. Why would he try to give her stuff after being the one to nearly kill her on purpose?

"Yes Miss.-"

"Why? Why is he giving me this stuff?"

"I d-don't know, Miss."

"Well did he say anything at all?" Hermione leaned forward towards Ditzy, making sure he saw deep into her serious yet miserable eyes. "Did he?"

"M-Master said something about how you c-couldn't stay in those bloody clothes, y-you'd get sick. Master also told Ditzy to change the Miss if she was still asleep. He s-said he would have changed you himself, after h-healing you. But Master did not wish to disturb you…"

She cupped her hand over the scar remembering the pain she felt while lying on the floor. "Healed me?" For a moment she thought it was a true act of kindness and regret on his part but no, he probably didn't want to lose his new "toy" so quickly. Someone like him couldn't be stupid enough to just let her die within a few days.

"I-I must go now Miss. Master e-expects me to wait on him."

"Wait."

Hermione popped out of bed and bent down next to him. She gripped her fingers on his clammy thin shoulders, making sure to look him in the eye. His shoulders adjusted shielding himself with his arms. "Please Ditzy, Could you help me get out of here?"

"Wah? No, No, No Miss! Ditzy has strict orders not to let the Misses out!"

"Please, just help me get out from the top of the stairs at least. He'll never know I'm gone, I can make my escape then."

"Ditzy want's to help the Miss, but Ditzy c-cannot. Please forgive Ditzy.."

The light in her eyes died, but quickly reappeared once more as she just hatched a plan. Hopefully it would work and she could get out.

"P-Please let go Miss, Master is calling for D-Ditzy."

"I'm sorry." Her hands slowly came off his shoulders and she backed away gently. "I don't know what I was expecting, thank you anyways." She looked down at him, giving him a weak smile of gratitude. Ditzy gave a guilty smile back to her and nodded.

"I will see you later, Miss" He bowed and lifted his hand to start. As his fingers met, time slowed down all around Hermione. This was her only chance and she must take it. Before the last motion of his fingerers clicked she was already on him.

They both apporated into thin air.

-ooo-

Lucius took a long gulp of wine from his silver goblet while starring over all these disgusting, uncivilized death eaters. They called themselves purebloods? He expected better from them, yet here they were shoving chicken pie and chocolate cake into their mouths in one bite. Most of all he loathed the way people would howl with drunken laughter with half chewed food spewing onto his dining table. In fact he wondered how some of them could get drunk so quickly in the first place.

But none the less, they were still his company. He had to make do with what he had, being in such high power as himself didn't get him old wizarding war mates that would smoke tobacco and enjoy some whiskey. All Lucius really wanted was a companion as smart and clever as he believed he was, and now he did. She was locked up down below.

The whole night he could not stop thinking about her. How could a Muggle girl be so delicate looking on the outside but filled with such fire on the inside? Lucius would never be able get straight to that smart insightful girl if he didn't tear away her shell. With his guidance he could give her a whole new life of knowledge unattained by any Muggle. The two of them could become powerful.

"Earth to Luciusssss," Bellatrix sang while waving a half-eaten biscuit in Lucius' face.

He recoiled quickly, snapped out of his thoughts. He didn't realize he was staring into space. But now he was brought back into the reality he wished he wasn't in.

"Good god Bellatrix! Manners."

"Sorry, you look like were caught in the gaze of a dementor!" She shoved the rest of the biscuit into her face like an animal. "No need to thank me for saving you!" she laughed a toothy smile of her disgusting rotted teeth. He didn't understand why she showed up to these parties when she was never invited. But there was never stopping Bellatrix from getting what she wanted.

As she filled more ham and chicken onto her plate, he just looked over at where his son should have been. Narcissa hadn't let Draco attend any more dinner parties with the Death Eaters, she didn't trust her sister around him. She would have prevented him from being a Death Eater altogether too, but she wasn't brave enough to stand up to the dark lord. It was true that Lucius felt guilt for bring his son into the word of dark magic but he couldn't change what he had done.

"Don't worry about him, Lucy," said Dolohov as he patted Lucius hard on the back. "You'll see Draco soon, he's coming in a few days for Christmas!" Dolohov was clearly as drunk as Bellatrix. Lucius could smell the pungent scent of alcohol wrapped around every word he spoke. Dolohov pulled his hand back away from Lucius but had dropped his goblet onto the floor. Now the Carpet was stained a deep puce.

Lucius shot him a look of indignant anger but held it back with a sigh. "Ditzy," he called out.

"It was just a mistake," Dolohov said which his head hung low. Lucius ignored him, trying his hardest not to slam Antonin's face into the table. How much more he could take of these unmannerly slobs, he could not tell. But both men noticed something just then. That the rest of the Death Eaters were silent.

Everyone was now staring at the other side of the room where Hermione and Ditzy had apparated. They hit hard with a thump and stumble across the stone and onto the carpet. Ditzy squeezed out from Hermione's grip and reapporated, leaving her all alone in the Lion's den.

She shot her head up to gaze at the people in the room. Just from the look of their drab black clothes and the disheveled state they were in she could tell they weren't going to help. They all looked grotesque, except for Lucius who looked at her with consternation.

Hermione wanted to run, but she was stuck there, glued to the carpet in fear. Everyone waited for Lucius to do or say something but from the silence a shrill voice cried out.

"Well, Well, Well. What do we have hear? A little Hogwarts cretin?" Bellatrix stepped away from the table and slid out her wand. Dolohov joined her while everyone else watched from the table.

"You look a little dirty to be a student don't you?" She pouted her lips, being as sarcastic and flamboyant in her strides closer.

Hermione couldn't look away from her; even if she could run it was too late now. She had to stand her ground.

"Enough, Bellatrix." Lucius got up from the table, "She is my new maid." He looked to her, that face from before was gone and she was welcomed with a familiar look. A look of annoyance, "What are you doing out of your room, Muggle?"

"Muggle? Oh joy, a Muggle!" Bellatrix clapped her hands together and laughed. "You got a Muggle maid!"

Each time Bellatrix spoke he increasingly got angrier. He started toward Hermione but Dolohov stopped him. As he pushed Lucius back he walked forward and crouched down in front of the shivering young girl.

"Well Lucius, I can see we are having some fun here aren't we?" He was examining the large tare in the dress. "And with _a Muggle_? Scandalous." Dolohov used the tip of his wand into the opening in her dress and moved it around. He slid the wand upwards, making the rip in her dress wider. "I didn't think you'd stoop so low as to fuck a Muggle."

"Don't be so vulgar Antonin, I would never copulate with the likes of a Muggle. The little creature tried killing herself, but I thought I should make her suffer longer." Lucius was ready to rip Dolohov's head right off his shoulders but kept cool.

Dolohov looked at Hermione who was still silent. Looking her up and down, undressing her with his eyes. "Shame she's a Muggel, her body looks ripe…" She couldn't handle it anymore and clawed at Dolohovs face, uncut nails ripping hard into his cheek. She kicked him hard in the gut and scooted back. "You filthy creep!"

Bellatrix shriek loud with laughter, "I like this Muggle, shes courageous for someone with no magic. Where did you find her?" As she jokingly admired Hermione's act of defense, Dolohov drew backwards clenching his cheek, wiping away little droplets of blood. "You little Muggle **_bitch_**! C-Crucio!"

Preparing herself from the oncoming spell was a waste of him. It hurt just as badly as the first time. A sea of fire blades tearing through her muscles like butter. Burning hot pain. She cried and screamed loudly, trying to look at Lucius for him to do something. But he did nothing and just watched her flail again. She wasn't in the hands of someone who wanted her alive anymore, but in the hands of a pissed stranger.

Dolohov and Bellatrix laughed their drunk laughter, enjoying her suffering.

"Enough Dolohov, I need her alive." Lucius pushed his hand down on Dolohov's.

Dolohov lifted the curse, "Alright, Alright" Ah what relief for the poor girl. She could have stayed counties and fought it but she didn't want to be awake anymore. She'd rather not know what happened next. So she laid very still, letting their bickering voices fade into nothing.

The last thing she saw that night was Lucius hard face fading away from her.


	7. Dreams

SORRY FOR THE WAIT! Busy w/ school…..

T_T

Enjoy.

-ooo-

The house she stood before was somehow familiar but at the same time one she had never seen before. She didn't know how she got here or why but it didn't seem to matter. She didn't feel scared, concerned, or any alarm. Hermione had a feeling of normality towards the house. The way one might feel going to their own.

The house was fresh green with its own white picket fence that stretched all along the sides. Past the gate flowers bloomed, caressing each other's petals in the wind. The wide full moon cast down a soft veil of moonlight that covered everything around her. Outside was not to cold nor too hot, but more like a quiet spring night. She wanted to stay a while and feel the air on her skin but a driving force beckoned her inside.

As she walked up the porch steps she never stopped to think that this might not be her house. She just strolled through the door and into the living room. The interior was simple and modest and the décor was fancifully delicate. On the couch across the television was her father. Or was it? She wasn't sure, it looked like her father but another half of her didn't recognize him. It was as if her mind was trying not to forget her own dad. Forcing her to remember his face but struggling.

As Hermione walks out of the living room and past the kitchen, the cookies baking in the oven give off a warm scent. There was a woman there turned away, her hands busy deep in the sink water. She had her mother's thin brown hair but her body was more plum than her mother. If these people were supposed to be her parents then why was she struggling so hard to accept it? Now she was starting to feel unease.

Were they really her parents, was this really her house? If it wasn't then why did she so willingly walk into a stranger's house? She couldn't help but to keep walking forward. As she moved onwards her movements felt lighter and lighter, till she was sure she would float away. But she kept walking on her own, through the hall way, up the stairs, to a bedroom door.

The door was white like all other doors in the house, it didn't have any notable features that would make it stand out all but yet she could feel this was hers. Hermione didn't even think about opening the door, she just did.

Her room was completely how she had remembered it. No sense of unfamiliarity what so ever.

All her books were aligned perfectly on her shelf, school blazer folded over her armchair, finished homework on the desk. The room's walls were still baby blue, and she still had her window that looked over the street in front of the desk.

Seeing her room made her realize where she was. Like a spark, emotions came flooding back. She wanted to cry from happiness then run downstairs to hug her parents. "I'm home! I'm home!" she would cry out them. But she never did.

Instead she looked towards the bed and closed the door. On top her bed was herself sleeping very peacefully. There was no doubt that was her sleeping on the bed. She seemed to be passed out on the bed like she usually did after a long day, not even bothering to cuddle up under the sheets.

Seeing this doppelganger didn't alarm her but made her feel at ease in some strange way. Hermione thought about putting a blanket over herself as she wished someone else might do for her. But that driving force came back one again. This time it didn't want her to walk, but turn behind her. She hesitated but turning around was all she could do now.

Lucius was standing their watching Hermione, not the one that stood before him but the one on the bed. The look in his eyes was longing and gentle. If anyone saw him they'd be certain he was only a moment away from kissing her awake like a fairy tale prince. But he was no fairy tale prince; he was the evil King who spreads havoc all across the land.

It was all starting to feel all too real to her now. It was too real to be a dream. Was this a dream? or someone elses memory?

Everything in the room began to turn blurry, and then faded away into darkness.

-ooo-

She woke up to the loud sound of a door slamming. Quickly she was brought back to reality away from everything else. She didn't even have time to try to analyze the dream, or even study the new room she was suddenly in.

Lucius Malfoy had already begun walking towards her looking very dismal as always. Cautiously she rolled over, trying to pretend she was still asleep. Hermione wasn't ready to face him, not after the last time he saw her. Lucius would probably wake her up anyways.

Hermione braced herself for a nudge or a slap, anything from him, but he didn't touch her. She could only hear him moving around on the other side of the room. There was a sound of clutter being moved around then the sound of him sitting down. Carefully she peaked from under the comforter and peered out at him. He was sitting there in an upholstered chair across the room reading a large leather book. Uninterested he flipped through the pages of the book, trying to force himself to read. She could see how tense he looked. Like he was trying to take his mind off of something.

"What is he doing?" she wondered. Was it possible he was watching over her or checking up on her? That was a crazy thought. Lucius would never do such a thing but yet it was exactly what he was doing now. Hermione cheeks flushed red with dissent, how dare he cause her so much pain than act like he cared if she lived or died.

The adrenaline inside her made it hard to keep still any longer. She slowly moved around back and forth to mimic waking up. She kept her eyes closed as she tossed and turned, and through the rustling of sheets she could hear him slam his book shut.

Hermione rose up from the sheets slowly, rubbing false tired eyes and letting out a yawn. Then she looked over at Lucius who was already looking back at her. He didn't seem tense anymore or even relived. Lucius so quickly slipped back on his mask of disinterest for her.

"Good Morning, Muggle."

"Good morning," Hermione cooed.

"Before you ask the unnecessary questions or why or where; you are here because you could not handle Dolohov's Cruciatus Curse. Although you deeply deserved punishment, he was a bit too forceful. Without my assistance you would have never survived down in the cellar."

"You saved me?"

"Don't think so highly of yourself girl, if anyone is going to kill you it will be me."

"Oh… Well thank you."

He was ready for her to defy him or roll her eyes, but there was true sincerity there. Because of this Lucius didn't know what to do next, he just pulled out a small flask from his robe and handed it to her.

"Here drink this. It's a potion; it should help with any leftover pain. Now that you are awake its time you've gotten back to work, you've been asleep long enough. It's Christmas Eve and I must have the house in order by tonight."

Christmas Eve? Had she really been asleep for three days that it was already Christmas Eve? She felt a bit sick, but figured three days of sleep were better than three days of floor scrubbing.

"I've had Ditzy mend and wash your clothes, they are in the nightstand next to your bed. I will give you an hour and half to get ready and readjusted. You have much to do." And with those words, Lucius was gone.

So again she did what she had to, bathed and got dressed. Thankfully he had some sort of shampoo that helped alleviate the tangles in her hair and soap that cleaned quite nicely. She got dressed into the same exact outfit before.

She messed around with the flask but never opened it up to drink. She just slipped it away in her pocket, if it really did work than she was sure she'd need it again later.

-ooo-

She spent the whole morning and afternoon cleaning the house from top to bottom. Mopping all the hallways, polishing all the silver, dusting, remaking beds, and folding clothes.

She thought she might expire from all the work. He was not kidding when he truly meant there was a lot to be done, but she was sure most of it was busy work. Still she managed to make it through most of the day, all that was left was to set the dining table for three people.

He never told her but she could already guess who the three people were. His wife, himself, and his son. She had seen their portrait a few times in foyer. As she'd clean she'd look up at it, watching them watch her back. From the looks of it his wife looked like a nasty prudent woman, the kind that would yell at anyone who set her off. A perfect woman for Lucius if you'd ask her. But even with the aura she gave off, she still seemed so beautiful for a woman of her age. Maybe she should not be so quick to judge her, but it was hard when the portrait quite literally glared at her.

Lucius' son on the other hand, seemed very lethargic in the painting, sad even. The way his mother and father positioned around him made him look like a scared ferret caught in a trap. She'd almost felt sorry for him but stopped herself from thinking so. He was probably just as horrible as his father. Yet no matter how hard she tried to shake the feeling, even if he was mean, she felt sorry for him.

Hermione snapped out of her thoughts of him and continued placing silverware on the table. There was a few minutes left before Lucius would take her and lock her back in her room. After positioning the last wine glass on the table, she turned around to find she someone was watching her.

It was none other than Lucius' son. What a coincidence that she'd just been thinking about him and there he was. He kept looking at Hermione, very confused at what she was doing here. They each waited for one another to break the silence but Draco spoke first.

"What are you doing?"

She tried thinking back in her mind and trying to decide if she should answer him or not. Something told her that Lucius would be very displeased to find his son talking to the help. He never told her but it was logical to assume that she was some sort of secret never meant to be discovered by his family.

"I'm…. working…"

"Since when does Father have a maid?" The boy wrinkled his forehead and looked a thoughtful gaze at her. Draco's eyes then suddenly widen, "Wait a minute, wait a minute do I know you? I know I've seen you before…"

Hermione froze up in anticipation, if he knew her situation then he could help her get back home. If not, then she might just stay here forever. She gulped.

"You're from Hufflepuff right? You're always hanging around Penelope Clearwater. What are you doing here; you don't need money that badly do you?"

"Hufflewhat?" She was becoming just as confused as he was. All these new words and names being thrown at her didn't make any sense but she was trying to figure it out. The word Hufflepuff was as foreign to her as everything else here was.

"Hufflepuff. You're kidding me right? Then let me guess, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic?"

She shook her head; she wanted to back out of this situation. "I'm- I'm not from around here."

He chortled, "Then from where? I don't suppose Koldovstoretz or the Durmstrang Institute?"

Hermione bit her lip and felt bad. What was she to say to him? Should had to come up with something, if he found out she was non-magical she surely would be sealing her own coffin. Well there was only one way to find out what would happen.

"I'm a…. Muggle? At least I've been told, I don't… I don't know what that means." She wanted to hide herself but there was nothing she could do. This was now her chance to get out of this before Lucius returned. "I don't think your father wants me talking to you. To anyone. I'm sorry."

"Muggle?" His face turned into repulse not towards her but to his father, "Surely you are joking."

"I'm really not. Again, it's nice to meet you but I'm sure your father would be very upset if he saw us talking. He's coming back for me in a minute. I don't want to get hurt again… Please..." She pleaded with him, scared of what might happen if Draco stayed any longer.

Draco could see she truly meant it, looking very scared he decided it was best to back off. He already could have guessed if his father saw him speaking with a Muggle that he'd be forced to hurt them. It had already happened once before at a Death Eater meeting.

"Alright I'll go but is there a way I could see you again?"

"I don't know… I don't know um…"

"Don't worry I'll find you." He turned to leave, but stopped for a second. "By the way, I'm Draco."

"Please don't"

Draco gave her a smile of reassurance and walked off, trying to his hardest to act like he hadn't seen her. For a moment she could actually feel hope swelling up in her throat. "Please god let him be the one to help." It was nice to feel true hope again but the moment was cut short by none other than Malfoy Sr. himself.

"You've finished, yes?"

"Yes sir…"

He looked over behind her and eye'd the table looking around for a potential mistake.

"Good."

Lucius placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed her forward, "Your work for today is done. Back to your room."

"What about dinner?" she bravely spoke.

"You'll eat after everyone else has. Perhaps if you stay quiet for the rest of tonight I'll treat you with the delight of eating my table scraps."

With the smug tone he spoke Hermione had to hold herself back from punching him hard in the gut. She'd rather eat broken glass than eat from his plate. But she dared not to tell him that, he was already mad enough that she didn't doubt he'd actually make her.

They stayed silent the rest of the way back to her cellar. She felt mad at herself to be stupid she'd be taken back to the nice room she was in before. Oh well, at least he couldn't sneak in and watch her sleep this time.

Lucius had dropped her if in the room and left as quickly as they had arrived.

-ooo-

The rest of the night was silent and cold. Thankfully for her the room had been untouched since last time so she still had the big warm blanket to shield her from the cold winter night. It was almost midnight now and she was starting to drift asleep while wrapped up deep in sheets. Hopefully tonight wouldn't be met with another nightmare.

All was calm until there was a knock at her door. She almost didn't hear it, who could it be?

Hermione sat up slowly, "Hello?" She was not scared but more curious, "please god let it be…"

The door slowly creaked open, letting a bright yellow light shine through. From behind the door popped a familiar face. It was Draco.


	8. Light

"Hello," Draco sheepishly spoke. He entered the room with his wand in hand. It glowed brightly from its tip and was much more potent than the candle from before. He seemed very nervous to see her, but in these circumstances he had every right to be.

"You've found me? …How?"

He closed the door and sat down on the foot of the bed. Hermione scooted closer to him, still wrapped in the sheets. "I waited for mother and father to sleep, then I weaseled it out of Ditzy. It was easy," said Draco feeling a bit proud. "So what are you doing here?"

Hermione looked down shamefully, she felt embarrassed for some reason. "I don't know why I'm here."

She interlocked her fingers and tried to continue, "I can't even begin to imagine why your father has suddenly decided he needs a new maid so badly. He's taken everything away from me, my entire life. Now he's left me in this cold little room. He even took my parents away from me." Her face looked serious. "They don't even remember me…"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know…. The last thing I remember is your father watching me outside of the school. You of all people should know how intimidating he is. He scared me so I left to call my parents. When my father picked up the phone he had no recollection of me."

"He obliviated them didn't he?"

"What?"

"Obliviation," Draco started, "It's a spell to remove memories. Sometimes small things other times used to wipe memories clean. He clearly didn't want them to remember you."

"But why? This isn't some sort of random kidnapping, this was premeditated. I don't understand why me of all people? What makes me stand out from everyone else?"

"I don't know, father has always despised Muggles in general. I haven't seen it, but he's killed them before."

This made Hermione scared, naturally she gripped the sheets tighter around her. "He doesn't seem to keen on killing me, at least not yet. So far he's already sliced me open, and used some horrible curse to make my skin boil. But at least I still have my… dignity."

"Sounds like father alright…. Where were you from?"

"I lived on the outskirts of London my entire life. Now I might never see it again."

"That's not too far you know, were in Wiltshire right now."

Hermione smiled weakly, happy to hear that she was only about an hour or two away from home and not someplace far away like Chesterfield. She emerged from the sheets and leaned forward, gently hugging herself.

Draco let out a deep sigh, he moved his wand around the room, looking at the state of despair it was in. It was still hard to accept his father would do something like this, it wasn't like him. He never wanted anything to do with Muggles let alone have them touch the dining ware he was about to eat from. Draco looked back at her.

"How long as he kept you in this disgusting hell hole?"

"Only a few days now, but apparently I've been asleep for most of them. I don't think I can stand it much longer." She needed to be bold yet again, letting fate decide what happens next. "Do you… Do you think you could help me get out of here?"

His already pale skin seemed to drop another shade completely; the look in his eye was like if he had been asked her to murder his firstborn. "I-I don't know if I can."

"Why not, you can do magic too can't you? Or is this all an elaborate trick?" Hermione demanded an explanation.

"I can, but…"

"But what then? I know you can help me, I know you are my chance at getting back home."

Draco shifted himself back slightly. Was helping her escape such a big deal? "I can't just do that. Do you know what you're asking of me? I may be my father's son but he is right hand man to the Dark Lord, **_he's dangerous_**. Even if I managed to get you back to London or even to the ministry they couldn't do anything. If he hasn't killed you yet he'll surely kill you then. I can't stand up to him again…"

Hermione could see he how dead serious he had become. It became clear to her in this short amount of time. Draco, despite being a budding young man was still fearful of his father.

"…Besides, why would I go through all the trouble of helping a Muggle girl I don't even know," he added on quickly.

She studied his face for a moment. "…He's hurt you before hasn't he?"

Draco tensed up and she could see he was becoming defensive. There were scares there not on his skin but deep down inside. She couldn't even begin to imagine what it was like growing up under his shadow. He was scared; he didn't want to be punished by his father.

She gently touched his arm to comfort him as to say, "Everything will be okay now, you have me." Draco's fair skin flushed a light pink, not visible in the light. Seeing the gentle look on her face was something he almost never experienced, the only looks he received were ones of disappointment or resentment. Even from his mother who was much kinder than Lucius.

"I'm sorry… I never got your name?"

"It's Hermione, Hermione Granger."

"It's nice to meet you Hermione… despite the circumstances," he extended his hand out.

She held his hand in hers, "Draco?"

"Yes?"

"I haven't eaten in a few days; do you think you could bring me something?"

-ooo-

Draco had been gone for at least 15 minutes now. She did not want to seem entitled but was starting to get impatient. As soon as she acknowledged her hunger it would not leave her alone. What she wouldn't give for a big plate of fish and chips or some Yorkshire pudding.

She tried to imagine what was taking so long, wasn't he the son of a powerful wizard? Why couldn't he wave his wand and make eggs on toast?

She waited a long while, minutes turned to hours. Draco still hadn't returned yet. Hermione became very upset, she knew it was too good to be true. He probably ratted her out to his father. They'd probably march in together and beat her. But it seemed no one was coming.

The longer she waited for Draco the faster the sun would rise. When it did she'd be sure Lucius would be there soon after. She wasn't ready to face him. So there was no point in waiting any longer; she was more tired than hungry. Finally she let sleep envelop her.

The sun finally came and so did he.

It was now Christmas day and she was all alone in the manor with him. Everyone must have left very early in the evening as there was not a trace of a single person besides the two. She didn't want to know what happened. But whatever transpired between Draco leaving to bring her food till the time the sun raised must have upset Lucius. She could tell not only by his the steaming pure hatred radiating off of him, but the fact he smelled like pungent grape wine. His face was brighter than ripe summer apple.

He didn't even give her time to shower or get changed out from her nightgown. Lucius dragged her from the cellar room by her wrist and brought her upstairs to the guest room where Narcissa and Draco had been staying prior.

"Now Muggle, I want you to cleanse this room from top to bottom. You may not leave it until it's been purged of **_filth_**." Lucius spoke so forcefully, she could see flecks of saliva gush from his lips. "I don't want to see a single strand of hair, a single scent of perfume. Make this room shine like new, or else." With a flick of his wand, supplies appraited out of thin air.

-ooo-

Hermione spent most of the day trying to scrub out the most insignificant details of the room. Mostly she took her time because the smell of Narcissas perfume was the hardest thing to get rid of. Since all the windows were warded off she couldn't air out the room.

It seemed like Lucius' demand was wildly unrealistic. Without a washing machine of some sort she couldn't get the smell out of the pillows or comforter. Hopefully Lucius would be too drunk to notice, he already looked like he had way too much. Still she complied to his outlandish demand and made the room shine.

The room was very pristine anyways, it hardly look like she touched it all. If he didn't like the job she had done that it was his fault, not hers. It was on to the next room for her, she was done dusting the same spot over and over.

She left the room and walked down the hallway to finish where she last stopped before having to set the table. As she walked she slowed down after she heard something strange. It was a soft whimper, like an injured dog. Hermione walked slowly and carefully forward until the sound got louder. It was coming from Lucius' upstairs study, a room she was strictly forbidden from. She crept up to the door and peeked in.

She could see Lucius at his desk, head cradled in his hands with his elbows propping himself up on the desk. Scattered around him were various bottles of wine and liquors, all which had been emptied. He was truly a miserable site to behold. If Lucius deserved to feel heart ache, then why did she feel sorry for him? She had to remind herself why she was in this exact scenario of watching him through a door, because he had kidnapped her.

Hermione was about to turn to leave but upon moving she accidently pushed the door, making what she believed to absurdly loud squeak. There was no turning back now; he was already looking at her with embarrassed anger. She was ready to run but she pushed the door open further.

"I didn't mean to spy on you, I only wanted to tell you I've finished with the… the room."

He stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded like she spoke gibberish. Maybe that's what he did hear; differentiating reality from illusions was hard to do in his drunken state.

"Come here, Muggle"

Hermione sheepishly walked into the room, clenching her cleaning bucket with both her hands. Each step was slow and deliberate, trying to stall the inevitable. "Now," He waved his hand forward. Suddenly she was plucked from the ground and levitated towards him; she was so startled she dropped her bucket.

With him sitting down, Hermione had become taller than the man in the chair. She had now stood so close to him if he moved any closer he'd be able to breathe the air out of her lungs. If she hadn't gotten a good look before she certainly did now.

She could see peach cherry gradient that colored the bags of his tired eyes, his strong jawline line, and symphony of blonde unkempt hair. Hermione felt helpless under his gaze, those steel colored eyes could intimidate anyone. He smelled like sweet grapes and earthy smoke.

Lucius held her by the arms and breathed heavily, "It's not polite to spy on people."

"I know. I'm so sorry… I really didn't mean to intrude, really. I just wanted to tell you I was done. I did everything you a-asked." Hermione whimpered. His grip became tighter and she felt like a leaf. The pressure from his large hands burned her skin. She had dealt with him when he was mad, but not when he was drunk. She didn't know how to approach the situation.

Lucius pulled her in closer towards his face, their noses almost touching. His knee rested between her legs, pushing up skirt of night gown. As he talked he'd inconspicuously grind his knee up and down, gently between her legs.

"Don't be scared, Muggle…. Your too… vile for my standards, I'd **_never_** touch you. " His lips formed into a half smile, "You will never be good enough for me." There was a deep cruelty to this, even when he had the upper hand he did not want what he had. She was thankful he didn't want to touch her but then what was he doing?

He moved one hand from her arm and gently placed it on her cheek, making sure to slowly run it down to her neck. He rubbed his thumb over the front of her throat. He admired the softness of her skin under his bare hand.

"Do ** _you_** think you are good enough for me?"

She froze, unsure of what she should say so she remained silent.

Hermione couldn't tell but he seemed slightly displeased with her lack of an answer. He left his hand there for a moment before bringing it down slower. His hands traced her collarbone then ascended lower to the start of her chest.

"Are you scared, Muggle?"

"No."

A maleficent smile come from his lips, he could not help it. "And whys that?"

"Because, you said you would never touch me."

She wasn't wrong, just moments ago he told her that she wasn't good enough. But he didn't accept her to acknowledge answer that way. Lucius became embarrassed again, so he dealt with it the only way he knew how. By slapping Hermione across the face.

"You disgust me. Go finish your work."

Her face stung with pain, it almost felt like it split open. A weep erupted from the young girl. Hermione stumbled backwards towards the door, picking up the bucket she had dropped earlier. She wasted no time and made herself scares.

She thought she was going to be sick, never in her life had anyone touched her like that. Hermione felt oddly flush, the incident left her with a curious imagine in her mind. She felt sick admitting it to herself but in a small way being the sight of attention made her feel important. No, she would not let herself feel this way over this vulgar aristocrat.

Hermione had other things to focus on, like Draco helping her escape. She began to wonder if he was alright. Last time she saw Draco she was unsure if he'd help her or not. He seemed very scared of his father but she knew all he needed was a little time to see he is much stronger than he believed. Hopefully nothing had happened to him and he would come back for her. But she couldn't rely on him completely.

She decided she would keep her original plan in destroying Lucius himself. By god by the time she broke him down he'd be a shell of his former self. This she swore on. She'd get her revenge on him, not just for herself but for Ditzy, Draco, and every other person he's ever hurt, killed or enslaved.

She would deliver them from evil.

-ooo-

 **Sorry if this chapter seems kinda rushed DX**

 **Im starting to get busy with school, but trust me I have tons of ideas for this story and it will pick up as we go along :P**


	9. Library

Sorry for the delay, I went back and edited a lot of this

I hope it was worth it, I've got a lot of plans for this story and I hope you will enjoy it

-ooo-

Days had passed without a word from Lucius. The events that transpired on Christmas day left the two feeling discomfort. The next days were met with almost complete silence, it seemed neither of them wanted to remember what had happened.

Because of this Ditzy had been given the roll of delivering messages to Hermione. The house elf was the only living creature she had talked to for a long time. He was good company to have but he couldn't make up for the real human interaction she lacked. She wanted to go back to her normal life, to have real friends again. Having Lucius ignore her was just a reminder that she wouldn't.

She'd imagine what she might say to her friends at school once she got out. She'd pay to see the looks on their faces when she tells them about the peril she had been in. How she was hidden away in a world of magic under the mercy of a sadistic powerful madman. And how she had outsmarted her captor and escaped back home. Well not yet anyways but that was the plan. It would be quiet a story to tell the world if she ever escaped she'd someday like to write about it.

But for now she found herself mopping the same floor for the fourth day in a row. The black stone tiles had become so clean she swore she could see her reflection in them. How she tired of cleaning things that already shined. She'd soon rather stick her hand deep into a pit of cobwebs than re-polish another cup or spoon. Hermione had cleaned so much she swore she perspired soap.

If only she could talk to Lucius and let her work in the garden or in the kitchen, like her being here had actual purpose. But he wouldn't speak to her, let alone make eye contact. She was more afraid of him now that she was before. Not knowing what Lucius would do next was the most frightening.

If she stayed in silence any longer she would lose her mind, she wanted answers. The bottled up anger in Lucius was bound to explode if she didn't try to stop it. Hermione thought it was best to act on her instinct and look for him. It had to be better than just waiting around all day.

But where could he possibly be? The girl searched through the entire manor, except for the locked rooms such as the library, Draco's old room, and the Gardens, to name a few. All which had been locked off exclusively so she could not enter them. It seemed as if Malfoy was nowhere to be found, there was no evidence he had been in the house at all that day. For a moment she thought about just turning around and going back to work but no, this had to be done. She couldn't tell why she felt so set on finding him now but she did.

The last place he could possibly be was his bedroom. She didn't think it was likely for aristocrat as himself to sleep all day. It was already lunch time and she would have least seem come out by now.

Hermione examined the door before knocking. She thought his doors were unnecessarily large and bulky for just a bedroom. Both the entirety of the cherry wood doors was carved to depict some sort of Arcadia. Almost all of it had been fixed to create large trees both near and far. She thought it was beautiful but ultimately ironic, how could a man as selfishly cruel try to pass off his home as a place of peace.

Timidly, Hermione knocked gently on the door. She waited but no one answered.

Again she knocked even louder. No answer.

She tried this several more times but to no avail Lucius never came.

She shook the handles of his room doors hard. It rattled slightly under her force but would not budge. The doors seemed to be locked shut or even warded with a protection spell to avoid her snooping. It was likely that eventually she would do this and Lucius was well prepared. Still, she jerked the on the silver ring handles.

"Come on…. Open you blasted door," Granger whispered to herself. She tried tugging them again this time harder. "Come on…"

….

"What are you doing?" a deep voice boomed.

Her heart climbed up to her throat and suddenly she felt the room spin. She looked back to see Lucius looking less than amused.

"I….I've been l-looking for you," she managed to get out of herself.

He cocked up an eyebrow, "Have you now, Muggle?"

 _"Stop talking stop talking stop talking."_ She chanted in her head. But she didn't listen.

"There was something I had to talk to you about…"

"And what might that be?" Lucius tapped a finger on the head of his cane waiting impatiently for what she might say. He looked as if he was in no mood for games.

Hermione stopped for a second; she wasn't really sure now what to say. The plan was to demand he communicate with her instead of ignoring her, but he was already talking right now. It was too late to turn back.

"I was wondering if maybe I could have other things to do or clean. I mean they are already clean anyways. I just don't think I need to clean them that… often."

"You thought telling me this was so important that you believed trying to break into my bedroom was a wonderful idea?" His tone made her realize how irrational she was acting.

She started feeling ashamed that he was right; her face felt warm. Before she could get anymore words out he continued.

"And how do you expect they stay clean? Hmmm? Who are you to make demands when I so kindly give you work. Do you want to rot in that cellar?"

She stayed silent for a minute or two, trying her best not to cry. "No, that's not what I meant."

"Then say what you mean."

He was excited to see what stupid thing she had to tell him.

"…I just can't live like this anymore. You say you don't want to kill me yet but can't you see you already are? You've been making me clean the same floors for days on end and you won't even speak to me."

"Watch your tongue."

"No! You've got me cooped up in this prison and left me with _nothing_. Now you won't even speak to me like **I'm** the one who's done wrong."

"Muggle, I am giving you the chance to stop this nonsense."

"Stop that! I _know_ you know my name. Speak to me like a human!"

She could see him reach for the wand that was still concealed within his walking stick. Hermione tried lunging for it but missed. Lucius was quicker than that.

"Stupfy!"

Her body slammed against the door hard and she rolled onto the carpet with a thud. All the wind was knocked out of her body, making her gasp loudly. He walked up to her and bent down.

"Why is it you want me to speak to you so badly? Could it be you enjoyed being touched? I regret thinking you were so much more than a whore. But it seems you've proved me wrong."

She wasn't done yet, she wouldn't go down without putting up a fight. Hermione grabbed for his wand again but was stopped instantly with Lucius' tight gloved grip.

"Give it up Muggle."

Lucius pulled Hermione up by the wrist and slammed her into the door again. The girl cried out in pain but was ignored. She managed to keep herself propped against the door. Keeping his wand well in hand he pinned her up against the door. The handles drove deep into her back.

"Comply."

She was ready to kick and flail but stopped herself. Maybe if she complied he'd stop hurting her.

"You..."

"I _what_ , Muggle?"

"…You will pay for this." she murmured softly.

Lucius could not help but smirk.

Having to gaze into those stone cold eyes yet again sent a deep chill down her spine. If Draco wasn't lying to her than she knew what he was truly capable of. That at any moment he could easily kill her without struggling and think nothing of it. She was certain she would die in this manor, in his hands.

But before anything else could happen Ditzy appeared behind them.

The sound from the apparition made him drop her like a rock. Lucius spun on his heels in embarrassed anger.

"What Ditzy? What is it?!"

The little house elf shield himself with his weak little hands, "It's Narissa! She has come to speak to you, Master." His big wet eyes peaked over to see a shaken up Hermione balled up against the door. "..Oh dear."

With a flick of his wand, Lucius adjusted himself. His long hair gathered in a pristine ponytail that tied itself nicely with a bow. Even the slightest wrinkles in his clothes were ironed away.

"Ditzy, take the Muggle back her chamber. _Without being seen_."

"Yes sir," squeaked Ditzy.

Lucius walked away leaving the house elf and the girl alone upstairs. He had other greater things to attend to than a shriveling little girl.

After he was out of sight Ditzy ran up to Hermione, "Oh miss, oh miss... Are you alright?"

She coughed out dry air and nodded to him. Hermione pushed herself back up using the door's handles as leverage. All she could do now was shake and look down at the sympathetic looking creature.

"Ditzy is sorry for Masters cruel behavior… Ditzy knows your pain."

Hermione knew he wasn't lying but felt like there was no way Ditzy could know how she felt. How could he know what it's like to come from being loved to being treated worthless overnight? No words of comfort could sooth her aching heart now.

"We must go now, Miss."

She couldn't bear to go on any longer, she just wanted today to end. Maybe tomorrow would be better.

-ooo-

Trying to shake off the feeling of sickness, Hermione decided a nice warm bath was earned. It was freezing cold anyhow; some warmth would do her good.

She soaked in the water for a long time, letting herself melt away into nothingness. Being able to clear her thoughts was a challenge in itself. She couldn't stop thinking about her friends and family, how desperately she wanted to come back to them. What Hermione wouldn't give just to be back in the comfort of her own room wrapped up in one of her favorite books.

Maybe when she got out she'd take Ditzy with her, show him the wonders of freedom in the non-magical world. Wouldn't it be lovely to see him enjoy himself for once? He'd also be proof that this wasn't all a lie she had made up. That would be another obstacle to climb, she'd seem mad if she just came back one day spewing nonsense about magic wands and elves. This was of course if she could make it out alive.

"Please god let Draco help me," she spoke softly.

-ooo-

Things seemed to return to normal after a few more days of silence. Lucius' bold remarks showed proof of that. But he still hadn't taken her demand into account and kept her to the same chores she had always been doing.

When she rebelled against him all she was met with was hard smack against the cheek. She felt like she was running around in circles hopelessly. Soon she could not tell one day from the last. Shortly after she stopped asking about switching chores, she'd just carry out the ones she was given lifelessly. There was no point in putting up a fight anymore.

Lucius payed no mind to the lack of life in her eyes, he had been too busy with Narcissa's consistent visits to notice. She'd visit once a week on Friday afternoons and leave just before dusk. When she arrived he'd make Hermione drop what she was doing and send her back to her room. She didn't complain being taken away from her work, she just despised the cold.

….

"Muggle?" Lucius spoke, snapping Hermione out from her thoughts as she finished scrubbing away at the dishes.

"Yes sir?"

"Come with me." He started walking before she could process anything at all.

This was a change of pace for her, he hadn't asked her to do anything besides her chores before. Where could he possibly be leading her now?

Hesitantly Hermione trailed behind him, staying so quiet that Lucius stopped once along to way to make sure she was still there. Four long painful minutes of anticipation passed before they stopped in front of two very large doors. They reminded her of the ones Lucius almost snapped her spine against. "Not another pair of doors…" she dreaded in her mind.

….

"This, Muggle, is the Library. I'm sure you are no stranger to books… That is of course assuming that you can read." She could punch the smug demeanor off of his face. "Since you wanted something new to do than I shall have you rearrange every book in the library. Not by author but by Alphabetical of course."

He pushed open the doors.

"It should only take you a month or two."

The library was extensive; it was almost as grand as the London Library. It seemed to stretch on forever with four shelves per bookcase. All which were jam packed with books both big and small. There were even volumes of books that came in dozens.

Hermione had to refrain from running ahead and plucking out a book to read. It had been so long since she was able to enjoy the luxury of a good book. She wondered what kind of stories had been invited in this world. Once Lucius had left her alone she would certainly find out.

"It's very beautiful sir."

He didn't say anything but looked prideful at his own collection. Not that he wanted to impress her, but seeing the wonder plastered onto her face couldn't help but make him feel that way.

"Go on now," he nudged Hermione into the room and shut the door behind her.

It was just her and the thousands of glorious new books that were just begging to be read now. She knew she must start working soon but she couldn't help herself at peeking through a few books. They all seemed to call out to her. Where should she start?

Hermione strolled down the long isles of shelves trying to pick out one that called out to her the most. Most had odd names like _The Enclopedia of Bat Eyes_ or _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_. Others seemed more subtle like _Goshawk's Guide to Herbology_ and _Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests._ As these were all very interesting titles she wanted something she might understand.

Still as she pass she'd occasionally pluck out a book and skim through it, confused about all the illustrations and recipes. It was very clever to create potions that allowed people to sleep without dreams or make one invisible. But what good were they to her if she didn't understand a word of it. It wasn't like she had access to mandrakes or dragon scales. All she wanted was to read what the Wizarding world's stories had to offer.

But then she saw one, placed firmly between two large leather books. It was a rather small pinkish book that had been so worn down she could not see the title any longer. Thankfully the pages were fully intact so she could read it the inside.

 _"A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett"_

Hermione hadn't read this book since she was a little girl and was delighted to see a familiar book among the strange. But did Lucius know this book was in his library or did he carelessly add it to his collection? It was Muggle literature, not that he didn't read but he was much too snobbish to appreciate non-magic authors.

She flipped through the pages quickly but something caught her eye on a back page leave. In faded crayon was written:

 _Laura R. ~1971_

1971? This book was so very old, she was shocked it was still intact at all. The fact that this was child's writing sent a chill down her spine. He must have stolen it from the poor girl, how petty…

But she would have to make time to read it after she got some work done, last thing she needed was to get back on Lucius' bad side. So Hermione slid the book behind her and started with the ones in front of her. There were so many places to start, how would she know what to do?

She supposed starting from the very first shelf was best, and finding all the books that began with the letter "A".

-ooo-

Hermione was there for hours picking out all the "A" books, so determined to sort them that she almost forgot it was a chore. She did too good of a job pretending she was in a real library with a real job. Whatever the case was, sorting books was much more entertaining than scarping thick gunk off of old pots and pans.

It was now time for just a sort break, she was sure it wouldn't make any difference if she just sat down for a moment. Hermione plopped onto a big arm chair in the middle of the room. She kept the pink book tucked under her arm and opened up another book she had found: "Muggles and Muggle-Borns : Fact from Fiction."

It seemed to be a beginner's guide to the Muggle world, giving a brief history on how wizards branched off from the non-magical. The book also gave "facts" about Muggles which made Hermione amused at how wild they were.

 _"Many Muggles make their children start schooling as early as three months."_

 _"Muggles often react poorly to injuries, resulting in frequent casualties."_

 _"Elder Muggles are left to fend for their selves in what they like to call "Old Folk's Home". A place for senior citizen Muggles."_

 _"Muggles have many children's stories possibly inspired by the Wizarding World such as: Ciderbella, The Wizard of Ooze, and Sleeping Princess."_

The last "fact" made her chortle. Maybe this was a sign that not all Wizards were bad after all. They seemed to find her kind just as fascinating as she found there's. If somehow she couldn't return to her own world she might be accepted into theirs. She could even teach them how to spell "Cinderella" properly. The innocence of it all made her smile to herself.

"Having fun now, are we?"

Oh god.

As she slammed the guide shut she slyly let the pink book slide between the cushions of the couch where she'd return for it later.

"I'm sorry I was only taking a break."

He grimaced at her, "You may not take breaks until instructed. Do you understand, Muggle?" Lucius plucked the book from her fingers.

" _Muggles and Muggle-Borns : Fact from Fiction_ ," he mocked. "Hmmmmm. It figures you'd pick something as boring as book about Muggles. Can't you think about anything else besides yourself? Although I don't approve of you reading through my books you could have chosen something more interesting than that."

He swished his wand up in the air and moments later from the back of the room came another book. It was covered in black leather and bound together with thick stitching. Lucius cleared his throat, "Ah yes, _Secrets of the Darkest Art_. A book with actual useful information." Lucius turned to look at her, "I'm sure you are familiar with the Cruciatus Curse? Or as you might better know it Crucio."

Hermione rolled over in her seat in fear but nothing came.

"You weren't really expecting me to waste perfectly good magic on you just now. But of course I could always demonstrate if you've forgotten."

"No…I remember…."

"It's filled with such wonderful spells, If you keep trying to rebel I'm sure you will get to see them being used properly."

As he looked at her try to remain calm, something caught his eye. A little pink book spine sticking out from beneath the cushions.

"Trying to hide something from me?" The book pulled itself out from the chair and floated into his hands. He turned it over and studied the ratty little thing.

"What did you find this?"

"On one of the shelves... Have you read it before? It's called "A little princess" it was one of my favorites growing up."

Hermione could tell he seemed slightly interested in it, he probably didn't even remember he owned it. "It's a story about a little girl named Sarah Crewe whose father sends her to a boarding school while he off at war. Sarah being very rich and very kind, spreads her wealth with her friends and even enemies. But then here father dies… because of this the school sees it isn't fit to send her out on the streets in risk of ruining their reputation."

Lucius listened in; somewhat curious of the odd little Muggle book she was fawning over.

"So they keep her locked away in the attic where she becomes a maid…." Her words became softer as a wave of realization came crushing down on her. Hermione Granger might not be so different from poor little Sarah Crewe.

She snapped her head up, "Please may I keep it?"

"No, you may not," Lucius snapped as he tossed the book across the room. The little pink book slid across the floor and out of sight. She knew it wouldn't be easy, it never was.

He paced across the room with his head held high, "As if I should ever allow you the privilege-"

Click click clack.

It was the unmistakable sound of high heels hitting the floor in the distance. Not just any high heels, but Narcissa's. Lucius knew that sound well and froze.

Lucius turned to Hermione quickly. It was too late to call Ditzy to come get her or for him to take her himself. He quickly pointed towards the other isles of books across the room. She popped up and ran to hide behind a bookcase, keeping very silent. She peered out slightly in case something happened or she was given a chance to run for it.

Far across the room to doors opened gently and in entered the graceful slender woman she knew from the portraits. Her very presences brought a sense of tension into the air. Narcissa had always seemed so frightening but the way she presented herself was very respectable. She had maturity Hermione could only dream of and a body she could only hope to have when she was older.

The two stood face to face eyeing each other.

"Narcissa my darling, you didn't have to walk all this way."

"I wanted to surprise you my dear." She spoke coolly as her ruby red lips spread into a smile. Narcissa placed her hands on his chest and leaded in closer. Lucius stood unmoving but met his wife's gaze.

Weren't they just fighting a few weeks ago? The complexities of adult relationships always confused Hermione. How could she run into his arms like that? Did she even know earlier he called her "filth?" Certainly no respectable woman would stoop that low for someone like him.

Lucius grabbed onto her upper arms and rubbed her smooth alabaster skin.

"You really didn't need to go through all the trouble of walking here."

"But I wanted to my dear." She came in closer kissing Lucius gently on the lips, then again harder.

"Bleh!" Hermione almost said aloud. She didn't want to watch but she couldn't look away.

"Narcissa…"

The woman slid her hands under Lucius' robes and wrapped his hands around his body. Then he did something that caught Hermione off guard. He kissed Narcissa.

His kisses were so passionate they were something out of a romance movie. They were the kind of kisses every woman longed for, and the kind Hermione hope she'd live to see. She was disgusted with herself for feeling jealous of Narcissa. But the way he kissed her made her feel like it was her instead.

It felt like an eternity watching them passionately kiss each other, over flowing with pure sexual tension. But Lucius was finally the one to pull away.

"Shall we take this elsewhere?"

"Why not here? It's only healthy to be spontaneous. I'm dying for something new Lucius..."

"Oh god, Mrs. Malfoy please don't…" Hermione thought as she tried to hold back imaginary vomit. Last thing she wanted was to watch the Malfoy's get it on in the middle of the library floor. Narcissa seemed so determined to get some "action", nothing would stop her. Hermione could see now why she visited so often…

"Please be rational my darling, it is not sanitary in here."

Everyone looked around the library; it was very dusty and looked like no one really touched it for a year or two. Narcissa sighed and pursed her lips together. She could Lucius was trying to stall or something had _other_ things on her mind. As long as she got what she came for, nothing bothered her.

Together they both exited the library, with the door shutting softly behind them.

"Thank god" Hermione whispered. She rolled over against the shelf and let out a deep breath, she thought they'd never leave. What felt like centuries was only but six minutes at most. Now she didn't have to watch them kiss anymore…

-ooo-

She stayed in the Library for the entire night too afraid to venture back to the cellar alone, she didn't know what was going on there. They could be making love on her bed right now for all she knew, if they were she didn't want to be in charge of cleaning up any bodily fluids.

Before falling asleep she had managed to read through a few books, not understanding most of it but still feeling fascinated. Who knew owls were so good at delivering letters, or that trolls existed. Who knew wizards and witches could be born from non-magical humans. There was so much left for her to learn but she was too tired.

She let sleep take her away and she drifted off silently, clutching "A Little Princess" lightly under her hands. Maybe she could find likeness with the young Miss Sarah Crewe, if she could find her happy ending than so could Hermione.

Her sleep was so peaceful she didn't even hear Lucius walk right up to her. She didn't feel the book being put on her chest, or the feeling of his hands slipping under neither her to lift her up bridal style. She was so blissfully unaware that unconsciously she cuddled right up to him, burring her face into his shoulder.

How she got back to her room that night she would never know.


	10. Draco

I'm still **really busy** with school so this chapter isn't my fav, it's a lot of talking. Still I feel like its an important chapter .

sorry if theres any typos, i just wanted to get this out there

-ooo-

Hermione sat up in her bed and ran her hand through her long oily hair. Another bath was probably do, she hadn't taken one yesterday and her hair was already on the fritz. At least the shampoo she was using helped tame her main for most of the day. But she was almost out and would have to ask for more soon.

She started up from the bed when she felt something cold slide off thigh and plop to the floor. She peaked down under and saw something she didn't expect to find. It was the little pink book she had fallen asleep in the library with! "How did it even get here?" Hermione wondered. Ditzy must have accidently took it with them not knowing she wasn't allowed to keep it. It was blessing in disguise for now she would have something to do with her time during Narcissa's increasingly longer visits.

Besides, what Lucius doesn't know won't kill him.

She slid the small book underneath her pillow and made her way to the bathroom. Today was going to be a new day with more books to read.

-ooo-

Hermione sat in the kitchen during lunch tearing away at a piece of bread. The bread was dry and extremely stale, she felt like she was trying to bite through a rock. It was just her luck that she might get something so hard that if it broke it would shatter into pieces.

It was rare when she got freshly made food, almost every day she was given left overs like crusting peas, bone dry mashed potatoes, and ancient half rotted fruit. She wondered what Ditzy was given to eat, but it was probably nothing better than what she had gotten.

If only she was able to cook, she could make herself something a little tastier than this.

She gulped the rest of the strawberry juice from her mug and sighed, wishing there was more to eat. She rested her head for a moment, dreaming about something more filling. Perhaps a nice Fettuccine Pesto with tomatoes and chicken, or better yet a proper English Breakfast complete with two fried eggs, warm beans, blood sausage, and mountains of hash browns. She tried not to think of these things but it became increasingly hard. Even a simple handful of plain crisps would be better than what she was given.

Then a bold idea sparked in her mind. Maybe there would be more to eat if she could just find it…

Hermione slithered away from the small table and crept through the kitchen carefully. Since there was no one here, so what could it hurt to look inside the pantry for just a moment? Maybe it might something she could quickly snack on.

The pantry door hinges silently creaked as she opened them.

Inside was plenty of spices and herbs, oils and sauces in strange looking bottles, bags of potatoes and rice stacked high on the bottom shelf. There was nothing she could really eat, it only figures that he wouldn't keep a fully cooked roast or pie in there.

She was about to close it before she saw caught her eye. In the far back was a clear tin filled with colorful melting chocolates packed inside. Pink, blue, green, and yellow, all shapped like smooth skipping stones. They all were pushed back far, hidden behind some jars of coriander and paprika.

Hermione popped the lid open and took a couple.

The rich milk chocolate was so smooth it almost dissolved instantly in her mouth. After almost two months of eating bland bread and tasteless peas she was in pure ecstasy. The girl couldn't help it and ate a few more. These chocolates were beyond heavenly.

She wanted to take the whole lot but decided to put it back before _he_ came back and beat her. Better safe than sorry was a motto she had to truly live by now. If she didn't hurry she'd be sure Lucius would catch her eating.

But the tin flew forecfully from her hands before it reached the shelf. Hermione's body turned to stone, heavy under fear. She didn't know how to explain what she was doing to . Slowly she turned around, preparing herself to apologize and think up a logical excuse as to why she was eating food he had not given her.

…

"Mind if I have a few?" laughed the blonde haired boy shaking the tin of candy. He smiled kindly at her.

Hermione almost fainted from relief. She didn't know what she would have done if it had been Lucius. Seeing it was Draco felt like an entire weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"Oh thank god." She wrapped her arms around him and sighed. Draco was so surprised because he never expected her to do that. Was what his father doing really so bad that she was happy to see anybody but him?

"Why, it's nice to see you too."

He patted her on the back looking mildly concerned, "What are you doing peaking around the pantry like a mouse anyways?"

"I'm sorry, I'm just very hungry. I've barely had anything to eat at all. I thought maybe there might be something to eat."

Draco handed her back the tin of chocolates and she placed it back where she had taken it.

The girl wasn't lying, from the last time he saw her he could tell that she'd dropped at least 6 pounds, lifting her off the ground would be no problem at all.

"Well then, I guess we should make you something to eat shouldn't we?" said the boy without any hesitation. He walked forward but Hermione held him back.

"No! What if your father sees you here?"

"My father? Don't worry about him, he's visiting my mother and my aunt. Mother doesn't like me being involved in Death Eater stuff so they agreed to keep me out of it. They sent me up to my room, but I managed to sneak out." He leaned against the kitchen counter coolly. "So what will it be?"

"Wait, whats a Death Eater?" she said, hoping this question would distract him from cooking.

"They are the Dark Lord's followers."

"And what does this "Dark Lord" plan to do with them?" she questioned.

"They plan to clear the Wizarding world of Mudbloods and those who oppose them. After that they'll move onto the Muggle world. "

"Mudblood?"

"Sorry, I meant Muggle Born, They are-"

"Oh. I've read about Muggle Born's before…briefly. What's wrong with them?"

He didn't know how to answer that, "I don't really know… Nothing I suppose."

"Then why kill them?"

She could see Draco start to get antsy, there was no answer he could give her that was reasonable. He turned around and pulled a pan out from a bottom cupboard and placing it on the stove to heat.

"I hope you like steak," he laughed nervously.

Hermione snorted, "Please don't, your father will defiantly know foods missing. Besides that's too much."

"Don't worry; he never steps anywhere near the kitchen. Why would he if he just makes the house elves do all the work?"

"You don't think Ditzy will tell him, do you? I'm sure he'll notice the meat is missing."

"Well we'll just obviate him if he finds out," Draco joked as he walked to the enchanted ice box, pulling out an entire steak. He unwrapped the meat from its butcher paper and placed the steak into the pan. They watched the pantry open itself and saw the spices come flying out, pouring themselves into the pan.

"I'm not a great cook you know, so forgive me."

Hermione sighed in defeat, she didn't want to bother him with helping her but she was in no position to turn down food. Already just the sight of the marbled red and white raw meat made her impatient to eat. They stood in silence watching the steak cook in the pan.

"Hermione," Draco said with a bit of hesitance in his voice. "I won't be able to visit you often. It's no longer Christmas break, and I'm expected to go back to school. Dumbledore and McGonagall have been watching me and it's almost impossible for me to sneak off of school grounds."

Her heart sank to her feet, she was just starting to become friends with him, why did he have to go so soon?

"When will I see you again?" Hermione came a bit closer.

"I'm not sure… if father or mother calls me home, maybe. There's a lot of tension at Hogwarts right now, I doubt they are just going to let kids leave whenever." He flipped the meat to the other side, and swirled its juices around in the pan. "But let's not think about that… I know this won't be the last time I see you."

Hermione stared at the cooking food, unsure how to say what she wanted to. She figured it was just best to come out and say it. "Something's been bothering me, Draco." She said as she rubbed her hands against the sides of her dress. "Where did you go the last time I saw you?"

Draco sighed in shame. He knew she'd ask sooner or later.

"I had just gotten you an entire loaf of bread from the kitchen when I was on my way back. Father stopped me…. He was already in a flying rage, it looked he looked so upset. I've never seen him so red before."

The sound of sizzling steak was loud and the smell fragrant.

"Mother was fighting with him earlier that night, I don't know what for. But I thought in the chaos it was a perfect chance to find you, so I didn't stay to find out. Anyways, when he found me he questioned about what I was doing with some much bread. The only excuse I could make was telling him I was still hungry, despite already having dinner. He didn't buy it and started interrogating me if I knew anything. He wouldn't say it but I know he was trying to find out if I was bringing it to you."

"Food for the mice, hmm Draco?" the boy said mocking what his father had told him.

"So what did you do then?"

"Thankfully mother came into the room and told him to stop lecturing me. She sent me up to my room but before I could even slide back into bed mother was already packing up and we were gone in moments."

Draco rubbed his head, the event had put him in a lot of distress. "Still... I'm sorry, I didn't come back."

"It's not your fault."

He stood there staring out the window, "You know it's strange… in a way I'm glad they are fighting. It means I'll never have to live under his roof again. In a few years when I graduate I can finally move away from the both of them so I never get yelled at like a child again."

"Fighting….? Draco they aren't fighting anymore…. They are far from it."

The meat started to burn.

"What do you mean?"

"Your mother has been coming here every other week now. Let's just say if they hate each other they have a weird way of showing it…" She cringed slightly, recalling the run in from yesterday.

"You're lying. All mother ever talks about is how much she hates him, how horrible he was to us."

"Listen Draco, I'm not. I know it's true, I saw them together first hand."

"She can't go back to him. She just can't!"

"You need to tell your mother than. I'm sure she plans to tell you soon, when she does tell her how you feel."

Draco turned off the flames and quickly plated the steak desperately, practically shoving it to her. "You wouldn't understand, neither of them listens to me. They still treat me like a child."

She wanted to sympathies with him but couldn't. Hermione had been lucky enough to grow up in a house full of support and love, her parents never questioned what she did or pushed her beyond her limits. Mr. and Mrs. Granger always had a moment to listen to their beloved daughter. She couldn't imagine what it was like growing up as the Malfoy's child.

They both sat down at the small stone table and he handed her a fork and knife to eat.

"I'm sorry" she whispered not knowing what else to say to him.

The silence was awkward for the both, so she decided to break the ice.

"Thank you for the meal," Hermione weakly smiled towards him, "It seems like forever since I last had some real food."

He returned a weak smile back. It was best they changed the topic for now, he didn't want to think about having to live in this house again.

"So what's the Muggle world like anyways? I don't really know anything about it since Father forbids me from taking Muggle Studies."

"Well what do you want to know?" She started cutting into her steak and slowly savored the taste. It was a bit chard but it didn't matter.

"Hmm… What's Muggle school like?"

"Well it depends, there are many different types of schools in the Muggle world. I went to a school for the gifted and highly studious. It was actually nice despite the fact that we had to wear uniforms."

He smiled, "Well you are not alone. At Hogwarts we have to wear Uniforms constantly. We seem to have uniforms for every occasion."

"What do you study at this Hogwarts place?"

"Oh all sorts of things, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and Astronomy."

"These all sound amazing. They all sound like classes people could only make up, well except for Astronomy of course. Maybe someday you can try to teach me what you've learned."

"I would love to but you are a Muggle. All the classes require magic."

Hermione would normally wince at that word but hearing Draco say "Muggle". But hearing him say it made her feel no attachment to the world Lucius used like a slur.

"It's a shame, I would love to do magic. That way I could get back at your fa-…" Perhaps she was being a little to bold here and stopped herself.

Draco laughed loudly, "Don't worry, I like him just as much as you do. I hope you do get your revenge, he has it coming."

They both mutually found it comforting that they could relate with their hate for Lucius. They suddenly felt as if they weren't alone. Their hate for him was an odd common ground but it worked.

"Anyways, I really enjoyed school. I always worked so hard it almost feels strange not being able to study or do homework. I'm sure most kids wouldn't complain but I love challenges."

"I'm not much for reading, I'm all for Quidditch. I actually used to play when I was younger but now I just like to watch."

Hermione was just about to ask what that was but figured if it was like any other sport she knew, it would take forever to explain. If anything she'd read about it on her own time.

"A sports player? Must have been real popular with the ladies," Hermione teased.

Draco was caught of guard by the sudden joke but laughed, "Yeah maybe with the girls in Slytherin but I wouldn't call myself a ladies man."

"It just seems to me you'd be popular with everyone."

The boy hid his shame very well, because in fact he was not a good person. At school he bullied and abused his way to the top of the food chain. His cruelty towards others would have made Lucius a proud father. But Hermione didn't have to know, because in his eyes she was a chance at redeeming himself. A fresh slate.

"Well I can bet you 100 quid that you were more popular than me."

"Me?! Oh god no. I was a total bookworm shut in. No one would be caught dead trying to talk to me. No one really started talking to me just till up to a year ago."

"A girl like you? I don't believe it."

Hermione giggled and hid her red face, "Please."

"I mean it! You really seem like a people person. Why I bet your boyfriend would be proud of you." Draco tried to play it cool but Hermione knew his tricks. He was scooping out the area before trying to make a move. This didn't bother her, still being a young and impressionable girl she was flattered.

"I don't have a boyfriend. Never have."

The girl saw a glimmer of hope in Draco's eyes as she finished the last bite of steak. It wasn't anything wonderful but it was the best food she had since she got here. They were both surprised how quickly she had managed to eat. Living here taught her to eat quickly or never eat at all.

She gently wiped sides of her mouth with a finger, "Thank you so much, it was delicious."

"It's not a problem; would you like some desert too?"

"Oh no, I'm full to bursting now. It was more than I could have asked for, besides your father might come back at any time."

"I understand… but at least take this for later in case you want something sweet. I'm sure you'll love it."

He reached into the pocket of his black blazer and pulled out a royal blue and gold pentagon box. "I used to love these growing up."

Hermione looked down at the cute little cardboard box and read the words, "Chocolate Frog". The box rattled in her hand, almost making her drop it.

"I wouldn't open it right now, save it for when you get hungry again."

She pocketed the box and then thanked Draco. "I should probably get back to sorting through the library. I haven't started yet, I was too busy on cleaning the halls."

"He really is making you work isn't he?"

"Yes, If he finds me slacking off he hits me. When he's really mad he'll make my skin burn like hot lava. So I try to stay on his good side. As each day passes I see less and less of a reason to keep trying. I still don't see why I'm here."

He was just as clueless as her but both couldn't help but think the worst. He knew his father was heartless but he would never do such a thing… would he? Draco dared not ask again if he had touched her, last time they spoke she mentioned he didn't. Still, it could only be a matter of time before something happened and Draco felt helpless.

"Father is a complex man, he has his reasons-"

"What reason could I possibly be here for? I've never done a single thing to him."

"That's not what I meant."

"How can you defend him after what he's done to me?" The memory of Christmas day came flooding back to her. Everything was so crystal clear now. She could vividly remember the way Lucius grabbed her and rubbed his knee between her legs. Thinking about it made her hair stand on end.

He shouldn't have treaded on such thin ice but it he could not turn back now. Her drained face filled back up with red and her eyes watered. It was too painful for her to come to terms she might never escape even with the help of Draco, and that as each day passed she'd risk having to deal with lustful Lucius again.

"I really have to get back to work, I don't want to deal with your fathers stupid face again." Hermione burst from the table and out the kitchen. She headed towards the library when she could be alone but it wasn't that easy. Draco followed after her not but a moment after.

"Please wait." He said watching her as he stretched his arms against the kitchen doorway. "I didn't mean it, please!"

Hermione made a sharp turn right at the hallway, past the dining room and out of sight. Draco fidgeted in the doorway trying to decide if he should let her have alone time or try to comfort her. He never understood girls and he would never understand her.

"Fuck it," he whispered under his breath and went after her.

-ooo-

She hid in the library towards the back, hidden away behind a maze of shelfs. She sobbed softly, then wept harshly, ashamed at how sensitive she had become. The Hermione Granger she once knew was gone, the one who could roll with the punches would now break down at the drop of a hat.

Hermione had only run off because she was too embarrassed to let Draco see her cry. If she were to get revenge for them she had to show him she was strong. But it was all a lie. If she was going to cry like that how could she do anything?

Eventually Draco made his way into the library, listening for her cries. It didn't take long to find the weeping mess of a girl, balled up near a window. It was a sad sight having to see her hidden behind that forest she called hair, it made his stomach swell.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I didn't get to finish."

She didn't look up at Draco, she just buried her face further into her knees.

"What I meant to say is, despite whatever reason he has this is unacceptable. He can't do this to you, its just not right."

"Then why don't you tell someone I'm here?" her voice shook. "If it's so unacceptable why can't you have someone else help me since you clearly won't!"

Those words made Draco feel small, it was almost like talking with his father.

"I can't…. I want to help but I can't."

"And why not?!"

"Because! Say Dumbledore or whoever, takes you away from here word is going to get out what my father is done. Storing a muggle? The Dark Lord would kill all of us before he could even make it to Azkaban! That includes not only me and my mother but you as well. Even if the ministry obviates you and sends you back to the Muggle world the Dark Lord will come after you and your family!" Draco's words were harshly passionate.

The tears stopped and she looked up at him in horror.

"There's no hope is there?"

Draco huffed and tried to remain cool, not wanting to disappoint or lead her on. With a sigh he spoke, "I don't know. Right now there's not much we can do. Even if I managed to break the spell and get you out of here and sent you back home, then what? Father will still know you are missing and he **will** come for you himself. I don't doubt if he did he'd make sure you had nothing to come back to."

"So then what am I supposed to do?"

"For now endure it." Draco looked around the room nervously, "You didn't hear this from me but Harry Potter and the others are close to finding all the Horcrux. If they do, they'll kill the Dark Lord and imprison my father. That's the only way I think you can get back home."

"…And if they don't stop him?"

The boy was silent unsure what to tell her, both sides were just as equally strong. He had no idea who might win. Draco exhaled deeply yet again, trying not to be too pessimistic was hard. "Listen, the best advice I can give you is to just do as father says. In case they don't win he will protect you, even long after they…"

Hermione head dropped back down, she just wanted this nightmare to be over with. But no, the real nightmare was just beginning.

"Don't be scared please. I know I can't do much but I'm here to help you Hermione…"

The boy sat down next to the girl and wrapped an arm around her; instinctively she leaned into him accepting his attempt at comfort. She would have a good long cry until she tired herself out.

-ooo-

They had been sitting there for hours now in the library, talking away trying to forget what they had talked about earlier.

Draco and Hermione bought discussed many topics, comparing and contrasting the worlds they grew up in. He was as fascinated in everything she had to say as well as she was fascinated in everything he said too.

She learned about things such as Hogwarts enchanted ceilings and some famous loon by the name of Gilderoy Lockhart. He learned about computers and how you could watch these things called "movies" on little black boxes. They had so much to learn about each other's worlds.

"I suppose I should get back now, I don't think they've noticed I've gone but I don't want to push it."

Draco was right, they had been here a long time, in fact the sun had already set and she could see stars in the sky. Hermione didn't want to be alone again but she could not stop him from leaving.

The boy picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off. "I'll try to see you again soon when I have the chance. I'll try to bring you something better than a chocolate frog next time."

Hermione got up with him and nodded, "Thank you for staying with me today, I really needed company. I haven't had a normal conversation in such a long time."

"Would you like to see me off?"

"Sure."

-ooo-

The two stood before the front doors and magically they opened before them. How she wanted to run out into the cool winter night and feel the snow fall on her as she kicked it up. If she could be outside for just a moment she would be fine, the cold wouldn't bother her. As dark as it was everything looked so peacefully beautiful that she could almost cry.

"I must be going now." The boy turned to face her. "I'll try to visit again soon…. Until then, stay strong."

Hermione wrapped her arms around him yet again, not wanting to let go. He embraced her back feeling her frail warmth not wanting to head out into the cold of the night. It wasn't a long trip back to his Mother's and tonight he wouldn't have to face the cold like she would. Giving her as much warmth as he could, he pulled away.

"I'll see you soon." The boy reassured her.

Draco stepped out in front steps and vanished into a swirl of translucent darkness. He was gone before she could even speak.

The doors slammed shut on her face, hitting her with a cruel gust of freezing wind. She clutched herself tightly wanting to die, she was alone again.

-ooo-

 **Don't worry this isn't gonna be a Draco/Hermione fic.**

 **OR IS IT? DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNN**

 **Just kidding, but we'll see what happens soon enough ;)**


	11. Change

Again, sorry for the long wait. I hope you guys haven't forgotten DX

-ooo-

Every day that passed since the encounter melted into the next and soon Hermione could not tell how long it had been. Had it been days or weeks, Weeks or months? All that would mark the days apart is when Narcissa made her weekly visit.

The woman was never late or early, always on time at 2 o'clock never breaking schedule. Hermione thought she was hypocritical, considering she had said herself that being "spontaneous" was "healthy" for their relationship. But then again how healthy can your relationship be when your husband has a seventeen year old girl locked up in the cellar? It didn't matter, she hated the both of them. She didn't care about the stability of their relationship.

However she could not shake the memory of the day in the library, seeing how passionately they kissed. How jealous she was, never being kissed that way or ever kissed at all.

During her time in high school all her friends around her had already had made it far beyond kissing. They had done things Hermione could only dream about.

Like Sarah, who in her two years of knowing had over ten boyfriends and countless multiple sexual encounters. She was a real rebel as adults would say, she was everything Hermione was not.

On multiple occasions she had told Hermione that she had slept with the grade 10 biology teacher, Mr. Allum, a much older man in his late 30's who was happily married with two children. Hermione could not believe such a thing, she would have never thought Mr. Allum of all teachers would ever sleep with a student. He was a good respectable man! There were plenty of boys after her anyways, why would she ever do that to him?

But Sarah would just laugh at how painfully naïve Hermione was.

"Don't spend your time on boys 'mione," she would say. "They are a complete waste of time. Unexperienced, unpassionate, immature! Yes I have been with a whole lot of them but never have I experienced such extraordinary passion then I have with an older man. It takes a man to do what a boy could never, make you feel like a woman. Men are delicate creates however, they want to make you believe you need them more but let the truth be known, they can't survive without the subtle advances of a sweet nymphet. With the just a little teasing, the right words, and careful flirtatious body language you can have even the strongest man on his knees at your every beck and call."

Hermione never believed Sarah, not all men would ever want to ruin his life for a night of pleasure.

Still, she could not help to think of this when looking at Lucius. Would he really have risked everything to have an affair that he was too ashamed to carry out? Why risk throwing his life away for someone as plain as Hermione Granger, bookworm virgin extraordinaire? The thought of him touching her didn't seem like a possibility anymore and for that she was thankful. But none of it mattered, nothing did at this point.

Hermione had given up trying to escape, all was hopeless. She doubted she could "seduce" her way out. The best thing she could do now was hope that this "Harry Potter" would win the war so she could go back home. That was if there was a home to come back to.

She prayed this war of theirs would not reach the Muggle world. She couldn't bear the thought of having to stay under rule of those who would abuse her or die at their hands.

Draco's words gave her some small sliver of hope. The words would ease the day and help her calm down after Lucius' beatings.

Being able to read the books had helped too even when she was caught reading and thoroughly punished with a cutting spell, nothing could keep her away from the one thing she loved most in the world.

She had already read half of Gilderoy Lockhart's works, and several books on wandless magic and werewolves. Hermione drank the words of each book, always keeping her unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

These books had opened up a whole new world of possibilities for a Muggle like her. She had never been so passionate about studying all the library had to offer, Muggle or not.

Hermione spent most of the morning in the library on her knees rearranging bottom shelf books and on the tips of her toes placing novels in their places on the tallest shelves.

Today was a rather calm one, she'd only seen Lucius for a few minutes and he didn't have much to say to her. He seemed more preoccupied than usual, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

Ditzy and Hermione talked earlier that morning during breakfast discussing the various things she had learned about house elves from the books in the library. The little thing was overwhelmed with happiness that they could start to better understand each other, he didn't have to be alone now. She could feel change in the air, somehow the knowledge she gained made her feel like she was closer to the freedom she longed so deeply for. But it wouldn't matter if she couldn't do magic or even brew a simple potion. She couldn't do a single thing with this information, she was nothing more than an average magicless Muggle. Still she would study the books for her own pleasure and to give her an edge on what was to come.

…

"Muggle."

She snapped out of her day dreams and turned to towering serpent of a man, who looked down on her.

"Finish up what you are doing, I'm holding another meeting tonight and the kitchen needs cleaning."

"Yes, Sir."

Hermione slid the books back inside the bottom shelve and arose from the floor. Tugging on the hems her worn black dress she meekly shuffled past Lucius. But he placed a sudden grip on her shoulder.

"Stop right there."

She stopped quickly in her tracks, staying as still and firm as she possibly could, not daring to move an inch forward. Lucius' fingers slithered over her shoulder, gouging into her nerves.

With a smooth motion of a careful hand, he turned her forward to face him. Hermione stayed perfectly still but inside she felt she was about to burst out trembling. No matter how many times he had hit her or cut her she would never get used to the pain.

He brushed the long strands of curly hair backwards away from her face and chest as he ogled her small thin body. Gently he gripped her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. Again she was prisoner in those cold carless grey eyes that made her feel as if she was trapped in an eternal fog.

He hadn't touched her like this since Christmas but he was drunk then. She could always tell when he had been drinking, the smell of wine in his breath never failed to burn her nose. But no, he didn't smell like his choice of bitter red wine. He smelled of his usual favorite earthy petrichor cologne, which reminded her of late night rain.

Lucius held the back of her head in his palm, enjoying the feel of her soft hair untwine between his fingers.

"If we have a repeat of last time you will be punished much more severely than the last. Do not think I won't let Dolohov hurt you again. If you dare disobey me and make a scene no one will come to help you and I will finish you off there and then."

The fear and pain in her eyes said more than any other words could. Satisfied, Lucius let go of her slowly, letting his warm hands tease cold skin. Her head dropped down to look at the floor, almost too afraid to look back. She couldn't see him but she was certain he had the same repugnantly smug smile on his face, the one he made when she gave into him without a fight. He face was warm with shame and bitterness.

"After you finish, set the table for ten… You can count to ten, can't you Muggle?"

"…Why do you always try making me look so stupid?"

She braced herself and clenched her fists, he was just trying to intimidate her and she knew he was not to be feared.

He cocked up his eye brows at her daringness, "will she ever learn" he asked himself.

"You can't even look up at me, yet you act so brave. Pathetic."

In a rage she grabbed him by lapel and tugged. He did not move nor defend himself, he only looked down at her in bored anticipation.

She looked up to speak, to yell, to do anything but no words came. What was there to say that hasn't already been said… She would just be wasting her breath asking to go home or to be set free.

He pryed her hand off, "Aggressive now, are we? You had been so obedient these past few weeks, shame. I was almost going to reward you."

She tried tugging her hand away but he held his grip firm. Lucius pulled her in closer, their chests almost touching. Hermione cocked her head back and buried it into her arm like an angry child holding down a scream.

"You seem to love making things harder to yourself but why? What do you seek to accomplishment?"

He leaned his head in closer to hers and breathed his warm oolong and honey breath on her already warm cheeks.

"Let me go…"

"Why should I let go if you were the one to grab me first?"

Again she pulled away but it was useless.

"Please!"

His other hand found the small of her back, there was no backing out of this now. If she tried to move her head back any further it would snap, she felt like a moth wrapped up in Lucius' thick web.

He walked the two of them further against the wall, pressing her body against the hard stone bricks. She shut her eyes, she couldn't bear to look anymore. All she wanted to do was melt away.

"Don't do this please…"

"You change your mind then, Muggle? I thought you weren't afraid?"

Hermione struggled against him. She tried to answer but squeaked instead.

"Answer me Muggle."

Lucius' hand moved away from her back and gripped forcefully on her neck, blocking off the air she already had trouble breathing. Her tears kept flowing thick down her cheeks and onto his bare hands. The girl struggled to talk, she could only let out wheezes that sounded gargled through the spit.

"I'm a-af-f-ra-a-aid."

He let go of her throat and watched frothy saliva drivel out of her gaping mouth and down her chin like a toddler.

Lucius sneered immeasurably, twisting her arm and pulling her away from the wall back to the middle of the center of the library. If it were not for Lucius' death grip on her arm she was sure she'd would have collapsed to the floor. She didn't want to deal with this anymore.

"You will go to the Kitchen without another word, do you hear me Muggle?"

The girl nodded furiously, still averting his gaze.

"Look at me when I'm speaking to you!"

She had no other choice but to look up her captor. His face was rose in frustration, he had riled himself up over nothing. He knew she wasn't at fault or had no reason to lash out at her, he was just brimming with resentment and guilt every time he looked at her. He didn't know how to feel about the girl, how he wanted her in his arms for so long yet wanted to see her bow before him.

He wanted to be loved by her the way he had seen so many others but this was not Lucius. Lucius was not meant for tender love. That is how it has always been with women. Except for his wife, who served more as a companion than a lover.

He had multiple affairs while married to Narcissa, none which she knew of. None could fill the void of passion for which he lacked and the sexual desires he held. All the women were the same, they gave him power and control instantly. These smart and powerful women would fall for him without even trying and that bored him to no end.

So what had made little Hermione Granger so different from them?

She was small and weak, hardly a real woman. While the women before her were developed and very mature. She buried herself in towers of books while women like that would enjoy the high life and luxuries Hermione could only read about.

He wanted someone he could break into submission, someone pure and weak but with willpower that provided a real remonstrance. He wanted a challenge that no other woman before her could provide. She would give into him, he would make sure of it.

"Yes…"

Lucius let her go with a tug and a push. The girl stumbled backwards and lightly held her own wrist, feeling the blood rush back in. She flinched hard feeling a cool rush of blood flow back to her hand.

"Go now."

She did as he commanded and left quickly to the kitchen not wanting anymore conflict. If she had gone any faster she would have lost her breath again.

-ooo-

The kitchen was yet again filled with the food that Ditzy had prepared, a large glazed bird garnished with sweet fruit sat on the kitchen island along with smaller plates of food like biscuits and mince pies.

Hermione was more than half way through the dishes with only an hour to spare before the party. She was worried she might not finish in time, she kept getting distracted with her own thoughts.

Out from the murky sink water she pulled out a grey cooking pan, dented and darkened from years of use. It was beaten and battered, but it still served its purpose. As she scrapped the last of the burnt food that clung to the inside of the pan she looked out the kitchen window and watched the snow fall.

It hadn't snowed in a week, it looked so beautiful falling as the sunset cast a sea bittersweet orange and tea rose over the entire manor. Although it was still winter she couldn't help but receive a warm feeling from the sunset like it was summer. A season where she had always been free to do as she pleased.

"Ello!"

It was a shrill voice, like a high-strung banshee that pierced the girl's ear. She let the pan fall back into the water and turned.

It was the same wicked woman from his last party, the one with a head of black curls just as unruly as Hermione's. The woman smiled devilishly at her, glinting her crooked brown teeth and eyeballed the small girl with her big glassy coke bottle eyes.

"Hello Miss."

She wasn't scared of this woman like she was with Lucius but somehow knew this woman would show her no mercy if she angered her. Hermione wiped her hands dry on her wrinkled apron.

"It seems we have a rat in the kitchen!"

Hermione didn't understand the woman's suddenness, "Oh? Should I alert ?"

"No no no! You know little Lucy's tempa', you should get rid of the thing yourself before he finds out."

The girl gulped down her pride quietly, there was no way she could possibly catch and kill a rat if she found one. Bellatrix's entrance was so sudden she didn't have time to psych herself up to kill a rat.

"Well… Where is it Miss?"

Bellatrix pointed a long blade like finger near the opposite side of the room near the pantry and some cabinets.

"I saw it scuttle under there!"

Hermione gulped hard she was sure this was going to be some cruel prank but she had no other choice but to go look for it.

She carefully felt around in the sink for something to kill it with. There was nothing except a fork for eating, some egg spoons, two bowls and the pan she accidently dropped back into the water. Since Lucius hid all the knives from her she decided the pan would serve nicely. A nice sharp blunt hit to the head would quickly kill it. No pain just darkness.

"Are you sure, Miss?"

"Don't question me, Girl! I saw it with my own eyes!... I'd kill it myself but that's your job not mine. Besides I figured you wouldn't mind getting a little rat blood on you since you are already filthy~"

Hermione ignored that last comment and walked over to the lower cabinets Bella had shown her. She squatted down, gripping the heavy cast iron skillet as tightly as she could. There was nothing there, it must have already ran off.

She turned back to Bellatrix who was leaning on the kitchen counter with her arms crossed, she still had that devious smile plastered on her face like a mask.

"It's gone."

"I know it's there!"

The girl turned back to peer back into the dark gap.

A large dark brown rat with matted brown hair popped out quickly let out a high pitched squeal of defense.

Hermione flew back in panic, she backed up quickly against the kitchen's island counter. She could hear Bellatrix's fruitless attempt of holding back her laughter.

The rat came out dashing towards Hermione, the thing was more hideous in the light of day. It was only impulse, she kicked the rat clear across the kitchen. The girl held back her yelp of fear and disbelief.

Bellatrix now howling with laughter clapped her hands together.

"Good job, Girl! Go check if it's dead, go, go!"

Hermione rushed over to the little brown rat on the floor. It was flipped over on his back squirming and squealing. She stood over it unsure what to do.

The woman followed behind her and laughed at the sight of the dying rat withering around pathetically.

"Well, go on." She shoved Hermione forward. "Finish what you started."

"I can't…"

"Put him out of his misery!" Bella chortled.

Hermione pursed her lips together and furrowed her brow. She couldn't bear to feel the crunch of bones and guts under neither her pan. Nor did she want to be the one to clean it off.

"Now!"

There was no time to think. She lifted the pan high over her head, ready to strike. It was best to just get it over with.

"I'm so sorry.."

She swung down hard.

"Expelliarmus!"

The pan flew forcefully from Hermione's hands and clattered to the floor. What just happened, she could not tell.

She looked over at the older woman who had her wand out looking mildly shocked.

"Are you mad?"

"I…"

From the floor the rat squirmed more, it was growing rapidly in size. Its long fur turned to hair, his tale receded, and his paws turned into long arms and legs. Soon enough the rat had transformed into a man.

He was a rather husky fellow, with a piggish nose, and long nappy graying blonde hair. His teeth we bucked and long like a rats too. It looked as if he had been living in a cave.

"You crazy Bitch!" the man shouted, clearly out of breath.

He scattered up from the floor and holding his side, still in pain from Hermione's harsh punt.

"I'm so sorry!"

He snarled at her, "Why you little Brat…" he turned to Bellatrix. "Why did you let her do that?!"

The woman's face had gone back to laughter and giggles. She obviously thought this exchange was amusing.

"Didn't think the little cur had it in her."

The two of them looked over at Hermione who had picked the pan up off the floor and held it tightly.

Bellatrix eyed her up and down, silently judging every aspect of the girl. There wasn't much to Judge, Bellatrix looked worse than Hermione but she chose to look that way.

"Maybe we should turn you into a rat and see how you like being kicked!" the little stubby man spat.

"Good idea, Petey. But it seems to me shes more of a mouse."

She ran her wand over Hermione as she circled around. Hermione wanted to swing the skillet straight into the side of Bella's skull but was too nervous to move.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. I'm sorry please."

It was too late. She could feel large round mouse ears peak from her head and a large whip like tail emerge from underneath her dress. She tears began in her eye as she felt her hands and arms start to get furry.

There was a loud stern cough from the door way that stopped everyone cold.

Hermione felt a strange wave of relief hit her like a cool breeze in the heat of summer. Seeing him and feeling this way wrong but she couldn't help it. Despite what he had done to her earlier she knew he was here to protect her.

Lucius walked up to her and examined Hermione who was leaning so far into the kitchen island that she might as well be sitting on it. In his mind he noted how much she already had looked like a mouse, she was small and quick like one and had a knack for getting into places she didn't belong. He thought this look suited her quiet well. With her big wet fearful eyes she looked more like a mouse than ever.

He turned to Peter and Bellatrix, "The two of you shall not disturb my servant ever. She has work to do. Get out of my kitchen, I will be with you shortly."

Bella pouted and Peter looked away bitterly. To Hermione they both looked like bratty children being lectured by their father after being caught red handed for something they knew they shouldn't be doing. Bella's eye shot from Lucius to the girl, her eyes were filled with loathing that scared the little mouse.

"Now."

The two of them left the kitchen huffing in vexation, they weren't done with their fun yet. But they had no other choice. Before making their exit they both looked back at the girl, as to say "He can't protect you forever you little rat..."

Lucius turned back to the mousey girl who looked back it him with wide honey eyes, "Explain yourself."

Hermione almost scoffed in disbelief, she hadn't done anything. But she remained cool, he did scare them away after all.

"She told me there was a rat in the kitchen and I must be the one to kill it. The thing leaped out at me and I kicked him across the room. I was going to put it out of its misery like she had commanded but she knocked the pan out of my hands and and…"

She looked back up at him, he looked as if he was going to laugh but he forced his smile back down.

"They tried turning me into a rat…"

Lucius looked behind her at the long pinkish tail that swayed out from under the black cloth of her dress, and then back up two her two big mousey ears that twitched impulsively.

She searched for more meaningful words of gratitude but the only thing she could say was "Thank you."

Hermione didn't even give it a single thought when she had wrapped her arms around his torso and held him warmly. She could feel him stiffen and hear the sound of his warm blood pumping into his cold heart. She felt her blood rush too; her heart flutter and her stomach tighten.

They were silent for a second or two. They just looked at each other unsure what to say. He looked scared of her almost, like she had just killed someone. The tables had so suddenly turned, she was the one who surprised him.

"Ditzy." Lucius he called.

" _Apologize you Idiot_!" she cried out in her mind, "Apologize before he decided you look better with your face all black and blue!" Standing there looking at him almost made her wish Bella had turned her into a mouse so she could skitter away into a hidey hole far away from Lucius' judgments.

He looked down on the girl like he always did, but in his eyes she couldn't make out what he felt. They had gone from fearful to concerned.

"Yes Master?"

Ditzy stood before them with his hands folded over his chest. They had been so distracted they didn't notice he had had come into the room. He could have stood there for hours before the noticed.

"Take Ms. Granger back to her room. When you are done set the table, dishes and all."

The leathery little monster looked over at Hermione who still had her large ears and long tail that swayed like it had a mind of its own.

"Oh Miss."

Lucius took one last long look at them and exited the kitchen, hastily leaving the room to join his guests who had arrived early. He'd be damned if he walked in on Bella flapping her gums to all the other Death Eater about his little pet mouse.

-ooo-

Ditzy took her back to her room and wished her a good night.

She kicked off her boots and tossed them against the room completely frustrated with herself and what she had done.

But finally she was alone after such grueling and very confusing day she could finally sleep this all away and dream of some place better than here. A place far away where Lucius and his friends could never hurt her, maybe someplace quiet where her and Draco could be together…

She ran her hands down her face and through her hair. She dare not look at herself in the mirror, she didn't want to see how stupid she looked hugging Lucius. He was probably so in shock he forgot to beat her over the head or something.

Still, Hermione could not help it… She peaked at herself in the broken mirror examining her bulbous animal ears and her long front teeth. Her face flushed cherry from pure embracement and she stumbled back to the bed.

Hopefully tomorrow Lucius would be merciful again and remove the curse from her. He had to at least have some mercy. She would drop dead if Draco ever saw her looking as monstrous as this. He wouldn't laugh at her but she still didn't want him to see her this way.

She climbed into her sheets not bothering to remove her work clothes and slip into her pajamas.


	12. The Dark Room

She had been lounging in bed all day reading her book for what seemed like the 100th time. It was three hours past noon and not a single soul had come down to see her.

She was used to this by now, it's happened quite a few times already but at least she wouldn't have to clean today. Still she was left looking like a mouse and that just wouldn't do. Something had to be done about these god awful ears.

Hermione wished she could sneak out and seek some help from Ditzy or someone. This tail was the most uncomfortable and made it hard to rest. It was too irritating to get used to, she was surprised she fell asleep with it because apparently it had a mind of its own.

It was just then a thought had occurred to her, was the door even locked in the first place? She hadn't actually tried since the first few days she was here. She was smart enough to assume he would lock the door so she couldn't escape. Not that she could in the first place without an escort up the cellar stairs.

She fiddled with the door handle, tugging, twisting, and pulling with all her might. It took quite a few tries but she finally got it.

Suddenly there was the sweet sound of creaking wood, the door finally budged open.

"Finally!" she couldn't help but to say out loud.

The cellar was still as desolate and decaying as it ever was, grey and lonely, uninviting and damp. This was quiet literally a prison more than it was a cellar. How anyone was intended to stay down here willingly was beyond her.

She looked around the cellar unsure of what to do, there really wasn't much at all except pillars, a couple rotting tables that lit lanterns sat upon. But something caught her eye in the farthest corner of the cellar. A door hidden in the dark.

It looked almost like her own door, except much more clean. It was seemingly untouched by the weathering and overall neglect of the cellar. Not even the spiders webs would dare touch it.

As always, curiosity overcame the mouse and she thought it was only her duty to explore. She had nothing better to do anyways.

The girl gripped the handle and pulled, but to no one's surprise it didn't move. She tried a few more times, but still nothing. It didn't seem locked, it just seemed stuck, perhaps the hinges had rusted.

She stepped back and jolted hard into the door. It swung open and Hermione fell to the floor hitting hard and ripping the skin of her cheek on the rocky broken stone floor. Bum-rushing the door wasn't her ideal choice but at least it worked. She moaned as she felt the beginning on a bruise start on her upper arm.

It was ironic the floor had hurt her more than Lucius had, but she'd never tell him that, she was certain he'd find a way to prove her wrong. She caressed her sore cheek and looked around the room.

It was incredibly dark, it was almost impossible to see inside the room that smelled like damp mold and pond moss. It was much too hard to see, she'd have to go back and get a lantern from inside the cellar, it was the only way.

Hastily she walked out and grabbed the nearest lantern which was already lit with some sort of eternal flame just like the rest of the lanterns in the cellar. It wasn't very bright but at least it would make things visible just enough for her to see where she was stepping.

Hermione picked up the lantern and felt a thick layer of rust crusted onto the handle underneath her palm. Upon picking it up she could hear the scrapping sound of its joints moving after years of rest with each sway. This lantern was probably older than Lucius himself.

She entered back into the mysterious black room and raised the lantern in front of her. Things were considerably clearer but it that wasn't saying much. She'd have to really watch herself, the slightest slip up could be disastrous.

With baby steps she carefully stuck her foot out slowly and moved forward, shifting the lamp every which way to make sure she would not bump into anything. This was a stealth mission, if anything were to go wrong she was sure that eventually Lucius would find out.

She made her way enough to stop at the first obstacle, a round table which she guessed which signified that this might be the middle of the room. She placed the lantern down and looked at all the things scattered on the table.

There were some very odd objects, things Lucius had no business owning.

There were a couple magazines stacks ontop of each other, some recent and some old. Fashion magazines, to fishing ones, cooking, homecare, and even a playboy from 1980, which at the sight of, made her cover it back up immediately.

"Well okay then…"

What would he be doing with Muggle magazines? Her eyes wandered to the rest of the table's odd assortment of items.

A packet of mint chewing gum (unopened), some rusting coins, an ipod which seemed to be stolen considering it was covered in stickers, and a small child's bank shaped like a pig.

What in the world was he doing with these things? Why was he stealing stuff from the Muggles? These surely weren't hers; she'd hadn't been carrying them in her school bag prior. She thought it was odd he'd just leave them sitting out here, not that they were expensive treasures that needed beautiful boxes and cases but it didn't seem like him to just leave them laying around.

She picked up the lantern and moved on around the table continuing forward. Maybe further ahead might lie an explanation.

Once again she stopped when something blocked her way. She brought the lantern forward and saw that she had made it to the end of the room. At her feet was a large black wooden chest that was covered by stacks of folded blankets and quilts.

Hermione crouched down and placed the lantern beside her on the floor. She carefully removed the dusty stacks and placed them behind her, far enough so she would not bump into them. Sure the room was dusty but she had a feeling that it wasn't completely abandoned. She had to be careful not to break or ruin anything. If she had to leave in a hurry there was no way she could fold all those heavy blankets.

She gripped the top of the chest and struggled to push it open. The wood was very heavy but she managed to open it all the way so that the hood of the chest could rest against the wall.

She gazed inside the box looking around at all the things it held. Plenty of old papers and documentations that held no significance to her, but there was a large stack of photos inside. She removed the pictures from their twine and flipped through them.

These pictures moved just the paintings in his house did, but these ones were slower and more grainy like an old time movie.

The first couple pictures were of a baby and his parents. The mother cradled the baby gently in her arms and next to her stood a unemotional older man. When Hermione saw the man it became apparent that these were Lucius' parents. He looked just like his father it was almost too remarkable. But he looked far more bitter and she could sense the overbearing hate he held in his heart. His mother seemed to be a lot gentler than her husband, she was battered and bruised around the edges but she still seemed like a strong intelligent woman.

Hermione thought Lucius was kind of cute as a baby with his rosy petal cheeks and small curled hands, hard to believe he'd grow up to be such a monster.

She continued through the photos.

Hermione could see the progression of his growth through the photo, in a matter of minutes she watched him go from a baby to a toddler to a preteen. She knew she shouldn't be smiling right now but it was funny to see already at 12 years old he already had begun growing his signature long platinum hair. In one of the photos she could see him and one his little friends jokingly braiding it, they looked so happy. It was odd seeing him smile so widely, so innocently.

She continued again, onto the next few photos. Most were of other people, like his relatives. She was half way through the stack before she saw him again. He seemed to be 18 years old now, very handsome and pristine, completely different from his younger photos. The girl found herself slightly flustered at the sight of this young Malfoy.

He was sitting at a table with funny looking man next to him, and three other students behind them. Everyone in the photo looked so happy like they were having a great time at their little get-together. They all laughed and leaned on each other like friends would do.

Yet Lucius himself seemed rather intimidating as always, looking directly into the camera the entire time. The overall atmosphere was cheerful but his glare brought a sense of melancholy. It was clear to see who he was growing up to be.

Draco less looked like his father but more like his mother instead, she didn't know Draco very well or who he might be 10 years from now but she was certain he would never been Lucius. Even if she had to stick around, she wanted to help him makes forge his own path and guide him through the dark.

She pulled up the next photo.

It was him and Narcissa together inside the Manor, they sat is opposite chairs holding hands. Her smile was big and wide, her perfectly white teeth showing through her ruby red lips, and his was small and controlled. He was the product of a forcefully molded aristocrat.

She seemed to truly be happy with him, but something didn't sit right with her looking at this photo. Lucius seemed like he didn't want to be there.

What did she care? They didn't matter at all to her at all. Still she couldn't help but to feel sorry. She was just unsure of who it was exactly she felt sorry for.

It seemed at one time Narcissa had loved Lucius for who he was, and maybe Lucius had loved her that way too. But it seemed that whatever the circumstances were, to her it was apparent he didn't want to be there.

…

She had finally made it to the end of the stack and was brought back with his baby picture. She tied the photos back up carefully and placed them to the side of the box and kept digging.

There was really nothing more than various objects. Such as a well-used thick forest green scarf with white greyish stripes and some old bottles with unreadable labels. She kept poking around at the bottom of the chest.

When she moved an old letter out of the way she had found something unexpected.

It was a long elm wand with a tarnished silver handle, embellished with gold at the end. It was gorgeous despite its age, the craftsmanship withstood time.

Just holding it made a sharp chill run down her spine. It felt perfect, like it belonged to her. But this was too ancient.

She twirled it in her fingers and swished it around. In her head she mocked Lucius wand wielding Mannerisms.

"Abracadab-"

Hermione jolted up, there was a loud sound above her. It was so muffled but it could only mean one thing. Lucius was home and he was furious. Even through the thick floors his voice made her adrenaline flow.

Her heart raced as she closed the chest as quickly and as quietly as she could, stacking the blankets back on top of it. She prayed she put the piles back in the right order.

She had to get out of there quickly before Lucius returned. He'd be here soon enough to dish out his unbridled rage upon her, if she wasn't back in her room by the time he got there she was as good as dead.

She picked up the lantern and made a rush for the door. It was just then she remembered the wand, she never placed it back. Something that beautiful must me important, it wasn't something he'd just leave laying on the floor.

"Oh, Hermione you idiot," she scolded.

Hermione rushed back and grabbed the wand, she tried to reopen the chest but she couldn't any longer. The massive quilts and blankets weighed it down like bricks. She could barely grip the hood of the chest, her hands just weren't strong enough.

"There's no time for this…"

She couldn't afford to waste to keep trying, she'd just have to hold onto it for now. If she could hide the chocolate frog and the pink book from Lucius it wouldn't be much harder to hide just a little wand.

Out from the darkness she rushed into the dim light of the cellar, sliding across the cold floor on her heels, and placing the lantern back down on the table so quickly it almost fell. She only had a few seconds to align it with the mark it had left from the dust. It wasn't perfect but in the lighting it wouldn't matter.

In the distance she swore she could hear the clack of his leather shoes and the bottom of his cane come closer and closer with each second. There was no time to debate if it was her imagination or not.

With her heart pumping out of her chest, she entered her room and softly shut the door, still she wasn't in the clear. She had to stash the wand. She couldn't hide it with everything else, if he found that she'd be in less trouble than stealing such an expensive looking wand.

She looked around furiously, contemplating every possible place it would be safe.

Where's one place Lucius wouldn't bother looking? The toilet was too disgusting and she already had her other things under her mattress.

She rushed to the opposite bed she did not use and shoved the wand into the pillows casing. This would have to do for now, she'd move it later where it would be safer.

There was no question about it now; Lucius was differently right outside her room. She could hear the door open.

….

In a matter of moments she had gone from the dark chamber to lying in her bed staring up at the ceiling as if she had been there all day.

She casually looked up at him as he stood in the doorway.

"Good Evening, Muggle."

"Good Evening, Sir."

Lucius was dressed nicer than usual. It looked like he had been somewhere extremely important. His hair was tied nicely in a pristine ribbon, and he wore a nice ink black suit underneath his best wool cloak that was long enough to almost drag on the floor.

Even the silver snake broaches on his cloak looked like they had been thoroughly polished.

"What happened to your face?"

She touched her cheek and felt the large scrapes had already scabbed over.

"That's right," she thought, "the cuts…"Somehow she must have forgotten she fell so hard. Now that she wasn't in an adrenaline filled daze, she could feel how sore her upper arm was and how badly her cheek stung.

"I fell… this morning."

He scoffed.

"There's hardly anything to trip on, how you've managed to do that is beyond me."

She turned away, cupping her cheek. Hermione had to let him take this stab, there would be no point in blowing her own cover. Even though she was holding down hard breaths and her face was moist with sweat despite the freezing temperatures of her room, he'd be as oblivious as she had hoped.

"Come here," he commanded.

She made her way from the bed to Lucius, who as always towered over her intimidatingly. He slipped his silver sneak head wand out its case as he spoke.

"My, My… Bellatrix really did a toll on you. If I hadn't intervened any sooner, you would have been deformed completely."

She almost scoffed, he spoke as if those words were supposed to be comforting. Yes she was thankful but she still couldn't believe the nerve of him.

He swished his wand over her quiet gracefully and quickly she began to feel an enormous weight being lifted off her. The mousey ears and tail had receded and her teeth formed back to normal, even the fur had seemingly vanished completely. It was nice to be back to normal, being an actual vermin wasn't anything she wanted to do again anytime soon.

His gloved hand lifted up her chin and he eyed the cuts on her face. He clicked his tongue under his breath, and cocked his brows.

"Your stupidity never seizes to amaze me."

Lucius pressed his wand to her cheek and the cuts faded away like they never existed at all. He rubbed his thumb over her cheek, and admired his own handiwork, healing scrapes and cuts were beginner's magic but he'd do anything to commend himself.

Hermione almost mentioned her arm but that would require removing her dress so she stayed quiet.

She swore she was about to hug him again from relief but refrained. They didn't need a reminder of yesterday's awkward exchange.

"Thank you."

He nodded, "I have brought something for you."

Instantly she was wide eyed, he had never given her something before. At least something wasn't a bucket and mop to clean a mess he purposely made. She hoped it would be a new book to read or something from her book bag he stole.

Out from his cloak he pulled out a small wooden box that he had seemingly tucked away from nowhere. It wasn't beautiful or expensive looking but it intrigued her nonetheless. Underneath it was small leather bound booklet.

"As you know I've been more than reasonable with you, I've treated you well and shown you kindnesses you did not deserve. Because you handled yesterdays….incident… so well, you were able to make up for your little outburst from earlier. As a reward I'm entrusting you with the gifts. Do with them as you see fit but do not think I won't destroy them immediately if you defy me."

He set the presents down on the broken vanity by the door.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. Thank you for the -"

"Good. Ditzy will bring you down your meal in an hour. Tomorrow its back to work, understood?"

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy."

He left quiet immediately after not having anything else left to say to her. She didn't even get to finish her entire thank you but she could see why he'd want to leave this disgusting place.

As the door shut behind him she grabbed for the box, excited to see if it was exactly what she thought it was.

Inside was beautiful raven feather quill with a brass tip and a generously sized glass bottle of dark violet colored ink. She was in complete awe of such a lovely gift. Out from underneath she pulled out the leather book and flipped through its ivory pages. All the pages were blank, fresh, and had that relaxing smell of a brand new book.

She couldn't wait to start writing with her new set, but where should she start? There were so many things crammed into her mind and now all he thoughts were struggling to come out at once.

A diary was a nice thought, but she didn't trust him or herself. While she was upstairs cleaning he could creep down here at any time and intrude on her person thoughts. Not to mention if she did write it, she couldn't write anything that happened to her or it might make him furious.

Although…

If curiosity got the best of better of him, and she knew it eventually would, she could use this book against him. How she would execute this properly would be the real challenge. Realizing what she could do with this diary was almost as if he had handed her a sword.

If she played her cards right it would be a huge step forward in regaining her freedom.

-ooo-

She didn't waste time.

Hermione sat back on the vanity seat and admired her work, it seemed innocent yet realistic enough to fool him.

 _February, 1997_

 _Today I received this book as a reward for good behavior. I've decided to use it as a diary and document my days here. I'm losing track of time and the only way I can differentiate the months is with the changing weather. I hope I can make good use of this diary in hopes of stopping myself from going mad._

 _It is truly a blessing to have received this gift, I've had too much on my mind for far too long and now I have a proper outlet to express myself._

 _Today had been a rather calm day, except for when I fell and scraped my face on the bathroom wall. I need to be more careful, everyday it seems I'm falling apart faster than I thought I would last. The last thing I need is to fall while cleaning something important._

 _I've been thinking more and more about my family and friends each day and I've come to realize other than my mother and father I don't really miss them as much as I thought. Yes I would give anything to come back to them but I have a feeling they are getting on just fine without me. I really am replaceable._

 _How soon will it be before Mr. Malfoy tiers of me too?_

 _We've had our indifferences, he prefers physical discipline more than verbal, but he has helped me more than once and for that I must give him proper credit._

 _I know I'm trying his patience and I fear it might run out soon enough._

It trailed off into the rest of her thoughts, but she thought it was good enough. It praised him enough while not exactly putting him on a pedestal.

She hoped this was good enough to fool him or else she would be ruining a perfectly good journal. It was already hard enough to write down all these lies, so she had to pretend she might be someone other than herself.

She took inspiration from Sarah Crewe, the little peasant girl from the book she stole. It was easy to relate to her struggles of being worked to death and being starved after days' worth of cleaning. Miss Minchin and Mr. Malfoy were a lot alike weren't they?

This made Hermione take a breath and really realize where she was… in the cellar of a man's manor writing about how she might die soon. This was becoming all too livid for her.

She closed the diary and packed the kit back into its box to avoid accidently breaking it. The girl knew she had to be extremely careful with her ink and quill as it wouldn't take a genius to know Lucius would never replace them if they broke.

Ditzy knocked on her door three times and walked into the room. He looked as sad and frail as ever, she gave him a warm smile in a small effort to raise his spirits. Spirits she knew he would get slapped out of him by Lucius once he returned back upstairs.

"Good Evening, Miss. I have brought you your dinner."

He snapped his fingers and on the vanity appeared a tray that held a cup of water and a bowl of left over soup. It looked so bland and dry, she was starving but wasn't really sure she wanted to eat this. It was food for the rats.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Miss. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Hermione was just dying to ask Ditzy about the wand, she would have waited for Draco but she was too curious to wait.

She thought about it for a second, could she really trust him with her secret? It was a gamble with Ditzy, it's not his fault for being someone she couldn't tell secrets too. They both knew all too well what would happen if he tried to lie.

"Actually…"

She got up from the built in vanity seat and walked over to the unused bed.

"Ditzy….. Promise me you can keep a secret."

He shook, "A secret? Can't say I can miss."

Hermione was worried but still continued, "Well you don't have to tell anyone unless they ask you to?"

"Correct, Miss…."

"If it's a secret than Mr. Malfoy will never know to ask."

"Correct again…" The way she raised her voice made him back away further. Sure she was quiet and innocent but when something needed to be said or done she could become quiet frightening.

She took the pillow and dug into its case. The house elf stood up on his toes and curiously tried to see what Hermione could possibly have to show him.

Slowly and meticulously she pulled the old wand out from inside the pillow.

THUD.

Ditzy recoiled so far back in fear he slammed his own head against the door.

"That's…. That's…!"

"Whose wand _is_ this Ditzy?"

He started hyperventilating as if he told he was going to be killed. He continued to slam his head against the door over. She had to drop to her knees and grab his head, holding it in place to avoid him from more self-harm.

"Calm down! Lucius is going to hear you and we'll both be in trouble!"

Ditzy shook widely underneath her hands, in an effort to remain clam. He was already in a full blown panic, it was a wonder to as why he wasn't incoherently screaming too.

"It's… It's….. Mr. Malfoy's wand!"

"Lucius'?"

"No, Abraxas Malfoy. Master's father."

She looked down at the wand in her hand. It was no wonder it looked so lavish. If Lucius ever found out he had his father's wand she'd and everyone she ever loved or looked at would be sentenced to death.

"How did you get it Miss?"

"I found it in an old chest-"

Ditzy widen so large his eyes almost popped out of his skull. He fell limp in the girl's hands.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Abraxas was buried with that, Miss!"

She almost dropped the wand as if it had singed hand. It was right about now she had wished Lucius hadn't dug up his father for that thing. In her mind she could see him prying the wand out of his brittle decomposing fingers.

"Then what was it doing in the room next to mine? He had it lying at the bottom of a chest like it was nothing."

"I don't know Miss… But please be careful with it."

"Why? Is it dangerous?"

"Oh yes. It was extremely powerful. It shouldn't be in the hands of a young witch."

"Young witch? …What do you mean."

Ditzy diddled with his fingers and looked at her pathetically. The gaze of impatient anticipation made him shudder even more.

"Y-you're… a witch Hermione."

Her hands dropped from the side of his face and she pulled back slightly. She gripped the elm wand even tighter.

"You can't be serious…. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

The house elf started mumbling trying to think of something to say.

"I don't know, you never asked, Miss."

She liked Ditzy and felt bad for him but all she wanted to do was punt him against the wall. How could he keep something so important from her?

Her mind seemed to shut down and she stared at Ditzy, completely dumbfounded. A second ago she was almost in a rage but now she didn't know what to say.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"I'm utmost positive, Miss."

"Please don't lie to me about this, It's not funny."

"No, Miss. Ditzy would never lie to you."

Could she have really been a witch this entire time? She wondered how long she had been one, since birth or maybe when she hit puberty? It was different in every book she read. If Ditzy wasn't lying that means her studying wasn't useless.

"…Does Mr. Malfoy know…?"

"I don't think he does. Only house elves can tell-" She didn't even bother letting him finish. The light in her eyes came back so quickly, the way they do with Hermione Granger gets a wonderful idea.

"Good let's keep it that way."

If he didn't know that's the only thing that was important to her.

She shoved the wand into the side of her boot, she wasn't going to let this thing out of her site. She pushed open the door with no effort at all, pushing the little creature out of her way slightly.

"Ditzy?"

"Yes, Miss?"

"I need one last favor…."

-ooo-

SORRY, Again I'd like to remind everyone this is my first time writing ever. So please excuse any grammar or typos

Im trying to learn as I go

Sorry also if it seems the story is going fast, T_T

PLEASE REVIEW! 3


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